Hornsea One

Hornsea One Wind Farm Profile

Location

Hornsea One is located in the North Sea, approximately 120 km (74.6 miles) off the Yorkshire coast in the UK. The landfall site for the project is at Horseshoe Point, Marshchapel.

Project Details

• Capacity: Hornsea One has a total capacity of 1.2 GW, making it one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world. It was the first offshore wind farm to exceed 1 GW in capacity until its sister project, Hornsea 2, came into operation in August 2022.
• Turbines: The wind farm is equipped with 174 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines. Each turbine is 190 meters tall with a rotor diameter of 178 meters and a maximum height of 200 meters to the blade tip. They have a clearance level of 22 meters above mean high water springs.
• Area: The wind farm covers an area of 407 square kilometers (157.2 square miles), which is over five times the size of the city of Hull.

Ownership and Operation

• Ownership: Hornsea One is owned by Ørsted (50%) and Jupiter Offshore Wind Limited (50%).
• Operation: The wind farm is operated and maintained from Ørsted’s East Coast Hub in Grimsby, England.

Environmental Impact and Licensing

• Environmental Assessments: The project underwent extensive environmental assessments, including a Final Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in November 2014 and various habitat regulations assessments.
• Licensing: Key licensing milestones include the Development Consent Order granted by the Secretary of State in December 2014 and Deemed Marine Licences (DML) from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) in November 2016.

Construction and Timeline

• Onshore Construction: Began in early 2016 and continued until 2019. This included the installation of underground cables, core buildings, and other onshore infrastructure.
• Offshore Construction: Started in January 2018. The offshore installation of foundations was planned to be completed within 24 months. Notable milestones include the installation of the world’s first offshore Reactive Compensation Station in June 2018 and the completion of the world’s biggest ever seabed investigation campaign in April 2015.
• Power Generation: The wind farm started generating power in February 2019 and became fully operational in June 2019, with the final turbine installed in October 2019.

Infrastructure

• Offshore Infrastructure: Includes three offshore wind generating stations, two offshore accommodation platforms, up to five HVAC collector substations, and an offshore HVAC reactive compensation substation.
• Onshore Infrastructure: The onshore substation, located at North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire, transfers electricity from the offshore wind farm to the national grid. It includes transformers, reactors, high-voltage gas-insulated switchgear systems, and other necessary equipment.
• Cable System: Features the world’s longest high-voltage AC offshore wind export cable system, comprising more than 900 km of cables.

Economic and Social Impact

• Employment: The project created approximately 2,000 employment opportunities during the construction phase and an additional 300 jobs during its operational phase.
• Investment: Part of a £6 billion ($8.7 billion) investment to transform the Humber region into a hub for the UK’s renewable energy sector.

Lifespan and Power Output

• Lifespan: The wind farm has an expected lifespan of approximately 25 years.
• Power Output: Hornsea One generates enough green energy to power over one million UK homes.