Hornsea 2 is now the largest offshore wind farm in the world

Hornsea 2’s 165 wind turbines sent their electricity to offshore substations for the first time.
The blades of Hornsea 2 they started shooting. Although it will be necessary to wait until 2022 for full operation, the gigantic British wind farm generated the first kWh in those days, immediately stealing from its older brother – Hornsea 1 – the title of offshore wind farm largest in the world.
The project, carried out by the Danish multinational Ørsted, had obtained approval in 2016, starting work in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. A challenging condition which, however, did not dampen Hornesea 2’s great ambition. With his own 165 offshore turbines it’s a total power of 1.32 GW, the power plant has already surpassed on paper the record values ??of Hornsea 1 (174 turbines and a capacity of 1.2 GW), which went into operation last year.
Both plants are located over 80 km of the English coast of Yorkshire, in the North Sea, in an area that should host two more extensions of the same project in the future. For Hornsea 2 there is still no talk of commercial operation, since the installation works are not completed. However, on 20 December the offshore wind farm sent its electricity to its offshore substation (OSS) and reactive compensation (RCS) for the first time.

“Reaching the first electric generation constitutes a milestone for the project and a moment of pride for the entire team”, has explained Patrick Harnett, program director for Hornsea 2. “The construction of a work of this size and on this scale is only possible through strong collaboration, hard work and dedication”.

Once completed, the maxi plant will send wind power ashore through more than 800km of cables, connecting to the national grid in the village of Killingholme. Together with his brother, he is expected to provide enough electricity to power more than 2.3 million homes. In the area, Ørsted recalls, two other projects are also underway: Hornsea 3 which received development authorization in December 2020 and Hornsea 4 currently in the planning phase. At full capacity they should add another 2-3 GW to the overall plan.