Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm

{{Short description|Wind farm in the North Sea}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}

{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}

{{Infobox power station

| name = Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm

| name_official =

| image = Kentish Flats 185488383 b48a2c2dcf o.jpg

| image_caption = Vestas V90 Wind Turbine Kentish Flats

| image_alt =

| coordinates = {{coord|51|27|36|N|1|5|24|E|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| country = England, United Kingdom

| location = North Sea off the coast of Kent, South East England

| status = O

| construction_began =

| commissioned = 2005

| decommissioned =

| cost =

| owner = Vattenfall

| wind_farm_type = Offshore

| ps_site_elevation =

| wind_site_usage =

| ps_site_area = {{convert|10|km2|1|abbr=on}}

| wind_offshore_depth = {{convert|3|-|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

| wind_offshore_distance = {{convert|5.5|mi|km|1|abbr=on}}

| wind_hub_height = {{convert|70|m|abbr=on}}

| wind_rotor_diameter = {{convert|90|m|abbr=on}}

| wind_rated_speed =

| ps_units_operational = 45

| ps_units_manu_model = Vestas V90-3MW / V112-3.3MW

| ps_units_uc =

| ps_units_planned =

| ps_units_decommissioned=

| ps_electrical_capacity = 139.5 MW

| ps_electrical_cap_fac = 30%

| website =

}}

{{maplink

|frame=yes

|frame-height=230

|frame-lat=51.4581

|frame-long=1.0883

|zoom=11

|text=Wind farm layout

|from1=Wind turbines Kentish Flats.map

|from2=Wind turbines Kentish Flats Extension.map

}}

The Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located off the coast of Kent, England on a large, flat and shallow plateau just outside the main Thames shipping lanes. The wind farm is operated by Vattenfall.

Location

The distance from the nearest wind turbine to Whitstable is {{convert|6.2|mi|km}}. The nearest turbine is {{convert|5.5|mi|km|1}} away from Herne Bay.

Installation

File:Fort and turbines.JPG

File:Thames Estuary and Wind Farms from Space NASA with annotations.jpg with Kentish Flats (pre-extension) bottom left.]]

Construction was completed in August 2005, with commissioning and testing of all turbines completed by September 2005. The wind farm consists of 30 Vestas V90-3MW wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 90 MW.{{cite web|url=http://www.bwea.com/ukwed/operational.asp |title=RenewableUK - The Voice of Wind & Marine Energy |author=RenewableUK |access-date=11 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102132011/http://www.bwea.com/ukwed/operational.asp |archive-date= 2 November 2012 }} Turbines were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA.

{{cite journal

|url= http://www.ees.dk/db/files/a2seas_praesentation.pdf

|title= A2SEA presentation

|journal = A2SEA

| publisher = Export Promotion Denmark

|date=2005-04-12

|access-date=2010-07-14}}

Between 2007 and 2010, the capacity factor was around 30%.Dunford et al. [http://www.ref.org.uk/images/PDFs/REDs10/Wind%202010%20v1.pdf UK Renewable Energy Data, Issue 10] p69 Renewable Energy Foundation, 29 July 2010. Accessed: 30 September 2011. Its levelised cost has been estimated at £66/MWh.{{cite journal |last1=Aldersey-Williams |first1=John |last2=Broadbent |first2=Ian |last3=Strachan |first3=Peter |title=Better estimates of LCOE from audited accounts – A new methodology with examples from United Kingdom offshore wind and CCGT |journal=Energy Policy |date=2019 |volume=128 |pages=25–35|doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2018.12.044 |hdl=10059/3298 |s2cid=158158724 |hdl-access=free }}

Power is transmitted to shore via three export cables.{{Cite web|title=Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm Extension, Kent|url=https://www.power-technology.com/projects/kentish-flats-offshore-wind-farm-extension-kent/|access-date=2022-02-20|website=Power Technology|language=en-US}}

Kentish Flats extension

In February 2013 Vattenfall was granted consent to extend the existing Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm.{{cite web|url=https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/south-east/kentish-flats-extension/?ipcsection=overview|title=National Infrastructure Planning|author=The Planning Inspectorate|access-date=25 July 2016}} 15 turbines each with a capacity of 3.3 MW were installed adding an extra 49.5 MW to the wind farm.{{cite news|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/wind-farm-to-add-more-25266/ |title=Energy firm Vattenfall to add 15 turbines to Kentish Flats windfarm off the coast of Whitstable and Herne Bay costing £165m |date= 10 February 2015|publisher=Kent Online}} Offshore construction began in October 2014 and was operational by December 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/uk-wind-energy-database/index.cfm|title=RenewableUK - UK Wind Energy Database (UKWED)|author=Tim Yates|access-date=11 December 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126052422/http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/uk-wind-energy-database/index.cfm|archive-date=26 November 2015|df=dmy-all}}

See also

References

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