RWE flicks switch on new offshore wind farm

RWE Innogy, the renewable energy arm of German energy giant RWE, has announced that yesterday it successfully exported the first energy from its new offshore wind farm at Rhyl Flats off the coast of North Wales.

The first turbine had been scheduled to be activated on Sunday, but the move was delayed slightly as a result of poor weather conditions and choppy seas over the weekend.

However, the first of the development's 25 turbines was turned on yesterday and will now continue to export power to the grid as work continues on installing and connecting the remaining turbines.

Kevin McCullough, chief operating officer for RWE Innogy, said the move marked a major milestone in the development of the Rhyl Flats Wind Farm, as well as the company's wider programme to invest in wind energy.

"We are delighted to reach this milestone, which marks the start of a lifetime of environmental benefits that Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm will deliver through pollution-free energy generation," he said. "In addition, the wind farm is bringing benefits to the regional economy through investment in jobs and local services.

He added that the development would also provide further benefits to the local community in the form of a fund that the company has pledged to pay into on an annual basis once the wind farm is fully operational.

The company said it expects the wind farm to become fully operational by the end of the year, at which point it will provide enough electricity at full capacity for around 61,000 homes.

The move is the latest announcement in a flurry of activity from RWE Innogy that has seen the company bolster its wind, solar and biomass portfolio.

Earlier this week, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband formally opened the company's new onshore wind farm at Little Cheyne Court near the Kent/Sussex border, which is being trailed as the largest onshore wind farm in the south east and is expected to provide enough energy for 33,000 homes.

In addition, the company announced last week that it has invested an undisclosed sum in two Scandinavian biomass technology firms through its venture capital arm.

Danish firm Stirling DK, which manufactures biomass-powered combined heat and power systems, and Sweden-based Mantex AB, which has developed a means of improving the efficiency of biomass systems by assessing the moisture content of biomass material, have both secured financial backing from the energy giant.

Crispin Leick, head of RWE Innogy's venture division, said the deals took the company's renewables portfolio to a total of six companies, with an investment volume of over €35m.

"We set great store by a diversified portfolio covering the whole range of renewable energies," he added. "We intend to take promising technologies enabling carbon-neutral energy generation to the production stage so as to make them fit for commercial deployment."

And RWE completed a busy week with the announcement that it is to team up with engineering firm Stadtwerke München and solar companies MAN Ferrostaal, RheinEnergie and Solar Millennium to begin work on one of the world's largest solar thermal power plants in the south of Spain. The consortium said it aimed to have the 50MW parabolic solar trough project up and running by 2011.