DONG Energy has been awarded a contract to build the Hornsea Project Two offshore wind farm, at the lowest-ever price for offshore wind in the UK.
At GBP 57,50/MWh, the strike price for the Contract for Difference (CfD) is 50% lower than the previous round of CfD allocations just[ds_preview] two years ago, demonstrating the rapid reduction in cost across the industry.
With a capacity of 1,386 MW, enough to power over 1.3 mill. UK homes, Hornsea Project Two will become the world’s biggest wind farm, even surpassing the 1,200 MW giant Hornsea Project One which DONG Energy is currently constructing, the Danish energy company informed. Hornsea Project Two will be built 89 km from the Yorkshire coast and is expected to be operational from 2022.
Hornsea Project Two will contribute significantly to DONG Energy’s ambition of reaching a total offshore wind capacity of 11-12 GW by 2025.
Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President and CEO of Wind Power at DONG Energy, says: »We have always promoted size as a key driver for cost. The ideal size of an offshore wind farm is 800-1,500 MW, and therefore it is natural that Hornsea Project Two will deliver record-low costs to society. At the same time, the low strike price demonstrates the cost saving potential of developer-built offshore grid connections, which in the UK is included in the project scope.«
DONG Energy is already constructing Hornsea Project One and has started the consultation process for Hornsea Project Three, underlining the huge potential of this area of the North Sea for offshore wind.
