Greater Gabbard

*based on site specific met mast data indicating a load factor of at least 40%, and based on household consumption of 3,300kWh a year.

Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm
SSE is currently developing the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm in a joint venture with RWE npower renewables. All 140 foundation monopiles and 30 turbines have now been installed offshore, as have both transformer platforms. Commissioning of the onshore substation is well-advanced.  Installation of the first export cable is complete and installation of the inter-array cables is well under way. The first turbines are expected to be commissioned in late summer and early autumn, and the first export of electricity will then take place. The entire wind farm remains scheduled to be completed in 2012.

In December 2009, the UK government announced that two Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) will be earned by the output of all offshore wind projects accredited between April 2010 and March 2014.

Greater Gabbard is the world's largest offshore wind farm in construction. It involves the installation of 140 Siemens 3.6MW wind turbines located around two sand banks known as Inner Gabbard and The Galloper in the North Sea, off the Suffolk Coast.


^{First turbine installed at the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm}

Offshore site plan
We have made our plans of the offshore site available for your information.

Offshore construction progress
You can see the latest update on the offshore construction work by viewing the plan below. The latest update is as of 9 August 2010.

Decommissioning
Section 105(2) of the Energy Act 2004 requires the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to approve a Decommissioning Programme for the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm before construction can commence. We received approval in October 2007 and a copy of the Decommissioning Programme is available for download.

Non-technical summary
The non-technical summary of the project is available for download.

Contractors
The primary contractor for the project is Fluor. Fluor is constructing the balance of plant, including the installation of the wind turbines for the project. Fluor is consistently rated as one of the world’s safest contractors. The wind turbines are being manufactured by Siemens.

• Galloper wind farm project (extension to Greater Gabbard)

• RWE npower renewables: project information
• The Crown Estate: Round 1 and 2 offshore wind farm sites

Procurement enquiries
Our communications team is unable to respond to speculative procurement enquiries. If you are interested in supplying goods and services to SSE, please refer to our FAQ.

Research enquiries
Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to respond to these individually, but we have made as much information as possible available on this site to assist your research.

Media enquiries should be directed to:
Ross Easton at SSE on +44 (0)845 0760 530

General enquiries can be sent to:
Ross Easton, Corporate Affairs
SSE | 55 Vastern Road Reading RG1 8BU UK

T: +44 (0)77678 51700
E: ross.easton@sse.com