Masdar inaugurates its third wind farm in UK

Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, on Wednesday, inaugurated its third wind farm in the United Kingdom, bringing the combined power-generating capacity of all three projects to 1 GW enough clean energy to supply nearly 1 million homes.

Together with its partners, Statoil and Statkraft of Norway, Masdar staged the official "switch on" of the 402-MW Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, located 32 kilometres off the Norfolk coast in England.

The ceremony was attended by Eldar Saetre, President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, and Steinar Bysveen, Executive Vice President of Wind Power, District Heating and Projects, Statkraft.

Also present were Hugo Robson, Chief Commercial Negotiator at the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Mohammed Sharaf, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Economic and Trade Affairs; Elnar Remi Holmen, State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and Kerry Robinson-Payne, Mayor of Great Yarmouth.

Masdar is a 35 percent shareholder in Dudgeon, alongside Statoil (35 percent) and Statkraft (30 percent).

Comprising 67 wind turbines, Dudgeon is now supplying around 410,000 UK homes in one of the largest deployments of 6MW wind turbines, the most powerful on the market. Dudgeon joins Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating wind farm, which Masdar also developed with Statoil, and the London Array, still the world’s largest offshore wind farm currently in operation at 630MW.

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, said, "Today’s inauguration of Dudgeon highlights Masdar’s emergence as a global renewable energy leader and the value of international partnerships in successfully deploying large-scale renewable energy projects.

"Together with London Array and Hywind Scotland, it also positions the UAE at the forefront of the United Kingdom’s drive to meet its domestic power demand through clean energy sources. The increasing cost efficiency of offshore wind technology is unlocking substantial commercial opportunities for the wider energy sector, as illustrated by the success of Dudgeon."

Al Ramahi added, "Today marks the completion of a three-year journey to deliver our third wind power project in the United Kingdom, but only the latest step in our collaboration with Statoil and Statkraft.

"We are proud to have played a significant role in the delivery of Dudgeon, both on the operations side and in terms of financing. The teamwork among our three companies has been exceptional, a key factor in the successful delivery of this flagship wind energy project.

"Dudgeon also makes an important contribution to the UK’s renewable energy strategy and represents continued progress in the deployment of commercially viable clean technology. The support of the British government has been critical to the success of Dudgeon; at Masdar, we are eager to build on our presence in the UK renewables sector, working with our partners," he added.

"As part of our strategy to develop from a traditional oil and gas company to a diversified energy provider, Statoil will grow significantly in renewable energy, with an ambition to invest around NOK100 billion (AED44.53 billion) over the next few years. Dudgeon is a key part of this strategy to complement our oil and gas portfolio with profitable renewable energy solutions, as well as adding to Statoil’s strong UK presence," Saetre said.