The Swedish energy company Vattenfall has announced it will increase the capacity of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone off the UK’s coast from 3.6 GW to over 4.2 GW. The increase in capacity will allow an additional 700,000 British households to be powered by the wind zone, bringing the total of homes powered by the upcoming Norfolk wind projects to around 4.6 million.
Prior to the capacity increase announcement, the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone comprised the Norfolk Boreas and the Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind projects totalling 3.6 GW. The 1.8 GW Norfolk Boreas is the first phase of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone. The project, located about 72 km from the Norfolk coast, is expected to start construction in 2023 and produce its first power in 2027. The 1.8 GW Norfolk Vanguard project, located 47 km from the Norfolk coast, is the second phase of the zone. Construction is expected to begin in 2023. The two projects secured consent from the UK government in December 2021 and February 2022 respectively. Siemens Gamesa was selected in November 2021 to supply turbines for both projects.
