Hornsea 2 is officially world’s largest wind farm
Guinness Book of World Records has officially named Hornsea 2, constructed and operated by Ørsted, as the world’s largest windfarm in capacity.
n the 2024 edition of the famous book, it states ‘Highest-capacity offshore wind farm. Hornsea 2 is a 1,320-MW wind farm built by Danish firm Ørsted some 89km (55.3miles) off the coast of Yorkshire, UK. The facility’s 165 turbines were declared operational on 31 Aug 2022. At maximum efficiency, the turbines can generate enough power for 1.4 million homes.’
This feat of engineering was built through Covid-19, battling with restrictions, and self-isolation rules. The 165 mighty turbines stand at over 200m tall, with most of the blades being delivered from the Siemens Gamesa factory in Hull. One rotation of the blades on each turbine generates enough electricity to power a home for 24 hours. In September 2022, AXA IM Alts and Crédit Agricole Assurances together purchased 50% of the windfarm for £3 billion.
Duncan Clark, Head of UK and Ireland at Ørsted, said: “This fantastic achievement has come from years of hard work planning, building, and now maintaining Hornsea 2. Being named by the Guinness Book of World Records is recognition that we’re immensely proud of. There are too many people to thank, but each and everyone’s efforts has made this happen. Thank you all for your continued hard work.”
The teams celebrated this achievement on Thursday 14th December, with the official adjudicator visiting the East Coast Hub (the largest operations and maintenance facility, for offshore wind, in the world) and presenting the certificate. Colleagues were gifted books as thanks for their hard work.
As always, safety is at the forefront of Ørsted’s projects. This is demonstrated through a new purpose-built safety training facility built with Active Training Team. The one-day interactive, multi-media programme has been designed to transform behaviour and attitudes towards safety. All colleagues who worked and are working on Hornsea 2 have completed the training.
The innovation and strive for a greener planet doesn’t just stop once the wind farm has been built. In 2024, Ørsted will be introducing the first green fuel Service Operation Vessel for offshore wind operations. The vessel will be capable of sailing on renewable e-methanol, which will lead to a yearly carbon emissions reduction of approx. 4,500 tonnes.
