The British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has issued approval for the construction of the Galloper offshore wind farm off the Southeast coast of England. The wind farm has been developed in a joint venture between RWE Innogy and the British electric utility Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). It encompasses 140 wind turbines and will have an installed capacity of 504 megawatts. The project is located some 27km off the coast of the English county of Suffolk.
The plans that have now been approved provide for the construction of 140 wind turbines over an area of 180sq. km. Up to three substations together with up to three meteorological masts at sea are being planned. The installation of three export cables that carry electricity to the feed-in point to the grid near Sizewell has also received consent. The forecast generating capacity of the wind farm would be sufficient to supply electricity to the equivalent of over 400,000 UK homes per annum.
Development of the Galloper offshore wind farm was put out to tender in 2009 by the Crown Estate—the property business that manages Crown property in Britain—as an extension project to the Greater Gabbard wind farm. RWE and SSE were awarded the development contract for the project in 2010. The two companies completed the Greater Gabbard wind farm at the end of 2012.
