How it all began
The London Array project was born in 2001, when a series of environmental studies in the outer Thames Estuary confirmed the area as a suitable wind farm site. Two years later, the Crown Estate gave London Array Ltd a 50-year lease for the site and cable route to shore.
Planning consent for the offshore wind farm was granted in 2006, with the onshore works approved in 2007.
Construction of the onshore substation at Cleve Hill started in July 2009 and was completed in October 2012. Offshore construction started in March 2011, when we installed the first of 177 foundations for the project.
The first turbine was installed in January 2012, first power was achieved in October that year and the final turbine was installed in December 2012.
Facts and Figures
- An offshore area of 100km2
- 175 wind turbines
- Two offshore substations
- Nearly 450km of offshore cabling
- One onshore substation
- 630MW of electricity
- Enough power for nearly half a million UK homes a year – two thirds of the homes in Kent
- Reducing harmful CO2 emissions by around 925,000 tons per year