Research & Innovation

Danish power firm Dong Energy has awarded a contract worth £21.8m to J Murphy & Sons for setting up an onshore substation for the 580MW Race Bank wind project in offshore UK.

The substation will be developed beside the UK National Grid’s Walpole substation unit during 2016.

Under the contract terms, Murphy will be responsible for providing all the substation equipment required to transmit power from the wind facility to the UK’s grid network.

Murphy managing director North John Murphy said: “Renewable energy is crucial to the UK, and we’re pleased to be a part of this project, which will support both future economic growth and more resilient infrastructure.

“We look forward to working closely with our client Dong Energy to safely and innovatively address the challenges that lie ahead and achieve sustainable efficiencies.”

The Race Bank offshore wind facility will be developed around 17 miles away from the Blakeney Point on the North Norfolk Coast.

Once operational, the 580MW project will be able to meet the power requirements of more than 400,000 households in the country.

Dong Energy had invested £50m for purchasing the wind project from Centrica in December 2013, and acquired approvals from UK authorities for its construction and operation.

Other offshore projects handled by Dong Energy in the UK include West of Duddon Sands, Westermost Rough, Hornsea Project One, Walney Extension, and Burbo Bank Extension.

The UK intends to increase its offshore wind production to up to 6GW by next year, which will be further raised to approximately 10GW by 2020.