Statkraft and innogy, the developers of the 860MW Triton Knoll wind farm off Lincolnshire, England, plan to take the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project by mid-2018.
The GBP 2 billion project, which has just been awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) at a strike price of GBP 74.75/MWh, will have finalized the financing process and will have completed contracting agreements with supply chain partners by the time the FID is taken.
The onshore construction is expected to start in 2018, with offshore works scheduled to commence in 2020. The project will be built in three phases with the commissioning expected to start in 2021. The project is to be fully operational in 2022 and is expected to deliver at least 50% UK content over its lifetime.
”Together with our partner Statkraft, we have passed an important milestone on the way to realising our offshore wind power project and also proved that we can be successful in a very competitive market environment,” Peter Terium , CEO of innogy SE, said.
”A large proportion of our planned investment in growth is intended to flow into renewable energies. Together with our grid and retail businesses, they will make innogy the innovative, decentralised and sustainable energy company of the future.”
Statkraft and innogy have also called for more CfD auctions in future to help secure the accelerating trend of cost reductions in offshore wind.
”Cost reduction is at the heart of offshore wind development and is accelerating faster than ever,” Paul Cowling , innogy Director of Offshore Wind, said.
”The importance of offshore wind in the UK’s energy mix is now beyond doubt. Wind energy should be at the very core of UK Government’s energy policy and our long term energy security. With these price reductions achieved, we now look forward to Government announcing the dates for future auctions, to continue to drive further cost reductions both in offshore wind and across other technologies.”
Regionally, preparations for Triton Knoll’s start of onshore work are underway, and a full programme of onshore survey works is being completed, while some key early works are being prepared to pave the way for construction later, the developers said.