Final Turbine Now Installed at World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm

The London Array Offshore Wind Farm, the world's largest offshore wind farm, has entered the final stages of its installation with the construction of the 125th, and final, turbine.

The first turbine of the massive 650MW renewable energy project started supplying power to the national grid in October. Now there are a total of 55 turbines connected to the grid, with the rest expected to come online by Spring next year.

Now that the final turbine has been erected the London Array team will concentrate on commissioning and testing the turbines in preparation for handing the project over to the Operations and Maintenance team in 2013.

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Benj Sykes, head of DONG Energy's UK Wind business (the main company behind the project), announced that, "having the final turbine installed is another landmark in this flagship project for the UK and for DONG Energy. The London Array will soon be the largest operational offshore wind farm in the world - building offshore wind farms of this size and larger in the future allows us to harvest the advantages of scale and is an important element of our strategy to drive down the cost of energy."

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the CEO of Masdar (another important backer of the project), said that, "this milestone brings us a step closer to showcasing the economic, social and environmental benefits of clean energy. London Array is a testament to how collaboration, the right policies and a commitment to sustainability can advance the new energy industry. Masdar is a proud partner, and we look forward to the completion of the world's largest offshore wind farm."

By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com