Abu Dhabi: Masdar’s Dudgeon offshore wind energy project is 60 per cent complete and is set for production in the first quarter of next year, a senior executive of Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company told Gulf News.
“Phase one of the project will commence by the end of the first quarter of 2017 and by the end of the year, it will be in full commercial operation,” said Fawaz Al Muharrami, head of project delivery in Masdar.
The project, with a capacity of 402 megawatts, is being developed by Masdar in coordination with Norwegian companies Statoil and Statkraft.
The total investment is about £1.5 billion (Dh7.15 billion) and the plant is being constructed 32 kilometres from the North Norfolk coast of East England.
This will be the second offshore wind project for the Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company in the UK. Masdar is the co-owner of the 630 megawatt London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind energy development which was inaugurated in 2013.
The completion of the Dudgeon wind farm will bring Masdar’s installed clean energy capacity in the UK to more than 1 gigawatt, according to Al Muharrami.
He said the company is looking for more wind energy projects in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
“We already have two offshore wind projects in the UK. We are looking at different opportunities in the country and if it matches with our shareholders investment guidelines, then we will invest more.”
“Offshore market is maturing and many developers are interested and financing is becoming easier. Apart from the UK, we are also looking for projects in the Netherlands and France.”
The clean energy company owned by Mubadala group launched a major wind project in Jordan in December
Tafila wind farm, a joint venture between Inframed, EPGE and Masdar, will account for almost 6.5 per cent of Jordan’s 1,800 megawatt (MW) renewable energy target for 2020.
The company is also looking to start a wind farm in Oman but is yet to receive guidelines from the government to move ahead.
