Galloper Offshore Wind Farm

The initial onshore ground works on Galloper offshore wind project were completed between June and November 2014. Image: courtesy of RWE Innogy.

Siemens will supply, install and commission 56 wind turbines for Galloper offshore wind farm. Image: courtesy of RWE Innogy.

The offshore wind farm is expected to commence operations by March 2018. Image: courtesy of RWE Innogy.

The Galloper offshore wind farm will be located 27km off the Suffolk Coast in the Thames Estuary, UK. The project was awarded development consent by the Secretary of State in May 2013. It is being jointly developed by RWE Innogy UK, Siemens Finance, Green Investment Bank and Macquarie Capital with an equity partnership of 25% each.

The offshore wind farm is the extension of the existing Greater Gabbard wind farm, which has been operational since September 2012.

The investment on the project is estimated to be £1.5bn ($2.31bn). A group of 12 commercial banks and the European Investment Bank will provide the £1.37bn ($2.08bn) debt for the project. BNP Paribas is the financial advisor for the project.

The project is expected to provide employment to 700 people during construction and 90 people once operational in March 2018. Its average annual energy generation will be equivalent to the domestic needs of 336,000 UK households.

Galloper offshore wind farm make-up

The Galloper offshore wind farm will feature 56 Siemens 6MW wind turbines with a total generation capacity of 336MW. The wind turbines will rest on monopiles in a water depth between 27m and 36m.

The wind farm will have an offshore substation, an onshore substation, and 56 buried subsea array cables linking the turbines to the offshore electricity platforms. It will also include two buried subsea export cables each measuring approximately 45km.

Construction of the Galloper wind farm

The initial onshore ground works on Galloper offshore wind project were completed between June and November 2014. Construction began in November 2015. The cable works at Sizewell beach commenced in the first half of 2016. Offshore construction began in the second half of 2016, and first power is expected to be generated by July 2017. The project is expected to begin operations by March 2018.

Contractors involved with the offshore wind farm project

Renewable energy consultancy company SgurrEnergy conducted technical due diligence at the Galloper offshore wind farm to provide initial bankability feedback to the developer. SgurrEnergy also completed a detailed technical due diligence report on the project for the benefit of the lenders.

UK civil engineering company Breheny was awarded a £1m ($1.52m) contract to perform preparatory works for the onshore substation at Sizewell in June 2014.

A consortium of Alstom and Petrofac was contracted to provide electrical systems for the project in September 2014.

DEME Group company GeoSea was awarded the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for the foundations in October 2015. GeoSea will provide design, fabrication and installation of 56 steel monopile foundations weighing in excess of 1,100t, under the contract. The foundation installation was completed by the end of 2016.

Siemens was awarded a contract to supply, install and commission 56 wind turbines for the wind farm October 2015. The scope of contract also includes offering servicing to the wind turbines for 15 years. The installation of wind turbines will begin in May 2017.

VBMS was awarded two contracts worth roughly €200m ($217.25m) in October 2015. The scope of the first contract includes installation of two 45km-long export cables, as well as route preparation, landfall operations, burial, termination and testing of the cables. The second contract includes installation of 56 inter-array cables.

In October 2015, VBMS awarded nkt cables a €53m ($57.68m) subcontract to supply export cables. The installation is expected to be completed by 2017.

JDR was awarded a £30m ($45.63m) contract to supply 56 subsea inter-array cables for the wind farm in September 2015. The cables are manufactured at JDR’s Hartlepool facility in 2016. The installation is expected to be completed by 2017.