Scroby Sands Wind Farm

Scroby Sands Wind Farm
Scroby Sands Wind Turbines
Country	United Kingdom
Location	off the coast of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Coordinates	52°38′56″N 1°47′25″E
Status	Operational
Commission date	December 2004
Construction cost	€87 million
Owner	RWE AG
Wind farm
Type	Offshore
Max. water depth	5–10 m (16–33 ft)
Distance from shore	2.5 km (1.6 mi)
Hub height	68 m (223 ft)
Rotor diameter	80 m (260 ft)
Rated wind speed	16 m/s (58 km/h)
Power generation
Units operational	30 × 2 MW
Make and model	Vestas V80 (30)
Nameplate capacity	60 MW
Capacity factor	32.42% (2012)
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons

The Scroby Sands Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Scroby Sands sandbank in the North Sea, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England, United Kingdom. It was commissioned in March 2004 by Powergen Renewables Offshore, a division of E.ON UK. It has a nameplate capacity of 60 megawatts and is able to produce power to supply 41,000 households. Between 2005 and 2010, its capacity factor was between 26 and 32%. Its levelised cost has been estimated at £105/MWh.

The farm consists of 30 wind turbines, located in water from 13 to 20 metres (43 to 66 ft) deep. Each turbine has three 40-metre (130 ft) blades that rotate around a centre-point some 60 metres (200 ft) above the mean sea level. The hollow 4.5-metre (14.8 ft) diameter steel masts that carry the turbines are piled as much as 30 metres (98 ft) into the sea bed, to provide stability on a substrate of shifting sands. These shifting sands have piled up and decreased water depth, blocking access from service vessels. An amphibious vehicle is being built to drive on the sand to gain access to the turbines.

The wind turbines were designed and manufactured by a Danish firm, Vestas. Each turbine has a capacity of 2 megawatts. Turbines were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA.

In August 2023 one of the turbines caught fire.

Tourism

The wind farm has an information centre serving around 35,000 visitors per year, and has become a local attraction. In June of 2018, Eon refurbished the property, with new exhibits and interactive displays, among other branding changes.
As of February 2023, the Visitor Centre has been Permanently Closed and vacated by Eon. It was believed to have closed in late 2019, and the reason is unknown.

Gallery

• 
  Wind farm seen from Great Yarmouth
• 
  Information board at Great Yarmouth
• 
  A Jackup rig servicing one of the wind turbines
• 
  MV Vos Paradise in front of Scroby Sands wind farm
• 
  Scroby Sands wind farm panorama

See also

• Wind power in the United Kingdom
• Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm
• List of offshore wind farms
• List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
• List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea

External links

• Capital Grant Scheme for Offshore Wind Annual Report – January 2005 – December 2005 from the Department of Trade and Industry. The main finding being that - apparently owing to a series of bearing failures, and four generator failures - production in the year was less to 30% of the farm's nameplate capacity (albeit this represents production of 90% of the farm's forecast annual output.
• Performance report into wind farm from the BBC, based on the above report.
• E.ON UK - Scroby Sands E.ON's page about Scroby Sands.