Hornsea Two

Hornsea 2 Offshore Wind Farm Profile

Location

Hornsea 2 is located in the North Sea, approximately 89 kilometers off the Yorkshire coast of England, and is situated adjacent to its sister project, Hornsea 1. It is also 55 miles east of the Port of Grimsby, with the cable making landfall at Lincolnshire’s Horseshoe Point beach.

Capacity and Size

The wind farm has a total capacity of approximately 1.32 GW, generated by 165 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines. Each turbine operates at a nominal power of 8 MW, with a maximum rotor diameter of 167 meters and blade lengths of 81.5 meters. The turbines have a swept area of 21,900 square meters.

Area Coverage

Hornsea 2 covers an area of 462 square kilometers (178 square miles), which is equivalent to 31 times the size of Lake Windermere.

Operational Status

The wind farm became fully operational in August 2022, marking it as the world’s largest offshore wind farm at the time of its completion.

Energy Production

Hornsea 2 is capable of powering over 1.4 million UK homes with green energy. One turbine rotation generates enough electricity to power a home for 24 hours.

Turbine Specifications

• Turbine Model: Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD
• Nominal Power: 8 MW
• Rotor Diameter: 167 meters
• Blade Length: 81.5 meters
• Swept Area: 21,900 square meters
• Cut-in and Cut-out Wind Speeds: 3-4 m/s and 25 m/s respectively.

Infrastructure and Contractors

• Turbines: Manufactured by Siemens Gamesa, with the majority of the turbine blades produced at their facility in Hull.
• Onshore Substation: Constructed by Balfour Beatty.
• Submarine Inter-array Cables: Supplied by Prysmian Group and JDR Cable Systems.
• Export Cables: Supplied by Nexans for the near-shore section.
• Grid Connection: ABB was awarded a contract to connect the wind farm to the UK grid.
• Marine Site Characterisation: Conducted by Fugro.
• Electrical Engineering Consultant: Semco Maritime.
• Aviation Services: Provided by CHC Helicopter using Leonardo AW139 and AW169 helicopters.

Environmental and Community Impact

• Environmental Monitoring: Comprehensive monitoring programs are in place to assess the impact on the environment, including marine mammals and habitat changes.
• Community Fund: The East Coast Community Fund, linked to the Hornsea projects, provides £465,000 annually to local organizations in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and North Norfolk. Since its launch in 2016, over £2 million has been awarded to 204 projects.

Project Timeline

• 2012: Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report completed.
• January 2015: Consent application submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.
• March 2016: Consent application examination completed.
• August 2016: Development Consent Order granted by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
• September 2017: Final Investment Decision made.
• April 2018: Site investigations and enabling works on the onshore substation commenced.
• July 2018: Construction of onshore substation began.
• October 2020: Offshore construction began.
• December 2021: First power delivered from the wind farm.
• August 2022: Fully operational.

Employment and Economic Impact

• The project generated approximately 2,000 jobs during the construction phase and will support an additional 130 positions during its 25 years of operation.
• The wind farm is operated and maintained from Ørsted’s East Coast Hub in Grimsby, supporting a workforce of over 600 people.