Thornton Bank
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Since May 2009, RWE Innogy is the biggest shareholder of C-Power NV, Zwijndrecht. This Belgian developer and operator of offshore wind farms is currently planning and constructing the ambitious Thornton Bank project. Up to 30 kilometres off the Belgian coast, Thornton Bank is the first national offshore wind farm which has already been fully permitted. Access to the grid has also been secured.
300 Megawatt offshore wind farm
The wind farm will have an installed capacity of up to 300 megawatts and is expected to produce around 1,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. This volume is sufficient to meet the requirements of about 600,000 people. It is to be equipped with 60 turbines of the 5-megawatt class, anchored at a depth of up to 28 metres by gravity base foundations. The deployed REpower 5M type has a hub height of 94 metres and a rotor diameter of 126 metres.
First turbines already installed
The first six turbines have already been installed successfully as part of a pilot phase. Another four project phases are due to follow by 2013. The wind farm will meet a substantial part of the development targets of the Belgian government for renewable energies. It will avoid the emission of about 450,000 tons of CO2 per year compared to a modern gas-fired power plant. The profitability of the wind farm is safeguarded by a certificate system. Belgian electricity utilities have to contribute a certain share of renewable energies to their energy mix or purchase a corresponding amount of certificates.
Thornton Bank is the first offshore wind farm off the coast of continental Europe with a German shareholder ever. RWE Innogy acquired 20.22 percent of the shares of C-Power NV from the Belgian investment companies Ecotech and Socofe, both located in Liège, and a further 6.5 percent of from other shareholders. Thornton Bank provides us with an excellent opportunity to not only contribute, but also extend our experience significantly in the offshore business This major project is an important milestone on the way to reach our ambitious development aims in the offshore sector.
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