Rhyl Flats

Location and Overview

The Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm is located approximately 8 kilometers northeast of Llandudno in North Wales, within Liverpool Bay in the Irish Sea. It is Wales' second offshore wind farm and the third offshore wind farm built within Liverpool Bay.

Project Development and Ownership

The project was initially developed by Celtic Offshore Wind Limited (COWL) as part of the UK's Round 1 offshore wind farm programme. COWL received consent for the project in 2002, and later that year, the project was purchased by Npower Renewables (now part of RWE, a subsidiary of the German firm RWE).

Currently, the ownership of the project is shared among RWE Renewables UK Swindon (50.1%), Green Investment Group (24.95%), and Greencoat UK Wind (24.95%).

Construction and Timeline

• Site investigation works, including drilling boreholes and seabed sampling, began in 2006.
• Construction of the offshore foundations started in July 2007, with the installation of scour protection and foundation piles completed by July 2008.
• Offshore cabling installation work commenced in July 2008.
• The project was officially opened on 2 December 2009, after the first electricity was supplied on 15 July 2009.

Technical Specifications

• The wind farm consists of 25 Siemens Wind Power SWT-3.6-107 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 3.6 MW.
• The turbines are installed on fixed monopile foundations, with each turbine having a height to the blade tip of 134 meters and a height to the hub of 80 meters above mean sea level.
• The wind farm spans an area of approximately 3.9 square miles (10 km²).

Output and Impact

• The Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm has a maximum rated output of 90 MW.
• It is capable of generating enough electricity to power around 61,000 households per year, which is equivalent to cutting approximately 1.7 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

Infrastructure

• The wind farm uses three export cables to transmit electricity to the mainland and connect to the National Grid.

Contractors and Maintenance

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy supplied the turbines and is also the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor for the project.

Financial and Operational Details

• The project generates significant revenue through the operation and maintenance of the wind farm. In 2019, the company paid ordinary dividends amounting to £23.2 million.
• The levelised cost of the project has been estimated at £126/MWh.

Environmental and Social Impact

• The wind farm contributes significantly to reducing CO₂ emissions and supports the UK's renewable energy goals.
• The project's operation and maintenance activities are managed to ensure compliance with environmental and social responsibilities.

In summary, the Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a key component of the UK's renewable energy infrastructure, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and powering thousands of homes with clean energy.