TRITON KNOLL: Major Milestones for RWE’s Offshore Powerhouse

The UK now occupies the top spot in global offshore wind, with installed capacity greater than in any other country and used to power over 7.5 million homes per year. Wind energy is set to become the backbone of a clean, reliable and affordable energy system, and by 2030 it will provide around a third of the country’s electricity.

In one of the country’s biggest growth industries, already employing thousands of people in highly-skilled jobs and attracting billions in investment, standing head and shoulders above the rest with the potential to power almost a million homes alone is Triton Knoll, an 857MW round 2 offshore wind farm boasting 90 turbines and one of the largest such projects in the world.

With concerns over the impact of climate change growing ever more pressing, the need of nationally significant, era-defining offshore wind projects like Triton Knoll is greater than ever in the bid to decarbonise the UK’s energy infrastructure. A high-profile potential source of home-grown renewable energy and representing an investment of upwards of £2 billion, the project is currently under construction within the Greater Wash strategic area, located off the east coast of England, approximately 20 miles off the coast of Lincolnshire and 28 miles from the coast of north Norfolk.

Triton Knoll is being constructed and operated as a single project, owned by RWE and partners J-Power and Kansai Electric Power, with shares of 59%, 25% and 16% respectively. RWE is the third largest renewable generator in UK, an innovation and sustainability champion in the field of renewables with a diverse portfolio of onshore wind and offshore wind amounting to over 2.2GW.

AT FULL TILT

RWE announced in January arguably the most important milestone in the project’s long timeline to date, pronouncing all 90 Vestas 9.5 MW wind turbines commissioned on schedule even amid the litany of challenges posed by the global pandemic. A vast array standing at 164 metres tall and covering an area of 145 square kilometres, the last turbine had been installed at the end of September, for which the blades, nacelles and tower sections were prepared for offshore installation at Able Seaton Port on Teesside, a specialist turbine construction base established and prepared for offshore wind project usage by Triton Knoll and Vestas.

“I am very proud of the Triton Knoll team’s achievement in completing the commissioning of the turbines on this nationally significant infrastructure project,” opined Julian Garnsey, Project Director for RWE and Triton Knoll, of this breakthrough which ensures export to UK National Grid. “The construction team has shown a huge amount of resilience in reaching this milestone.”

It was an achievement that followed the news of Triton Knoll’s successful generation of renewable electricity for the first time. It came after the delivery of vital onshore and offshore electrical infrastructure and the successful energisation of the project’s entire transmission system, which includes the offshore substation platforms, offshore export cable, onshore cables and onshore substation.

“It’s fantastic to see Triton Knoll generating clean renewable electricity for the first time,” Garnsey beamed, a sentiment shared by Flemming Ougaard, SVP, Head of Global Offshore and Construction at Vestas. “We are delighted that our V164-9.5 MW turbines are now generating first power at Triton Knoll. With pre-assembly taking place at Able Seaton Port as well, this project is truly delivering for the UK, and powering UK homes with clean, offshore wind energy.”

Meanwhile, Tom Glover, Chief Commercial Officer at RWE Renewables and RWE UK Country Chair, spoke of the huge significance the project holds in consolidating the UK’s world-leading renewable position. “Achieving first power at Triton Knoll reinforces our position as a leading player in offshore wind,” he asserted, “and demonstrates our commitment to helping deliver the UK’s ambition to grow offshore wind capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2030.”

RESULTS SPUR INVESTMENT

RWE is second in the world for offshore wind, with Triton Knoll, once fully operational, set to be the most powerful in its global fleet. The rest of Europe is following the UK’s lead at this transformational time, with new offshore wind capacity additions poised to hit a record high this year to top 4GW for the first time, more than doubling additions in 2021 according to research by Rystad Energy.

“Europe is the world’s most mature offshore wind region, but Chinese installations have dominated global additions in recent years,” added Rystad Energy offshore wind analyst Anubhav Venkatesh. “Chinese projects represented 85% of all global capacity additions in 2021, with Europe only contributing 10%. But that looks set to change this year, and the continent is expected to continue ramping up capacity additions through the end of the decade.”

Installations in 2022 are led by the UK with RWE a major contributor and influencer to the country’s pioneering approach, as Triton Knoll is joined by its wholly-owned 342-MW Kaskasi development, Germany’s first offshore wind farm to come online since 2020. The German multinational energy giant has now underlined its commitment to long-term excellence in offshore wind operations and maintenance in Grimsby, with the creation of a centre of knowledge and expertise.

The larger hub builds on the recently established presence of Triton Knoll to add the significantly larger Sofia wind farm to the quayside it now shares with Orsted, as RWE drives the development of one of the largest offshore wind pipelines in the UK. Triton Knoll marks a strong legacy for the future of wind energy in the region, as the new ‘Grimsby Hub’ facility is set to support both existing and future RWE operated projects.

“Through RWE’s investment in the Royal Dock site,” Glover explained, “we aim to create a centre of knowledge and expertise that guarantees our presence in the region for the long term, and which we will create more opportunities for local jobs, skills training and longer-term relationships with nearby suppliers.” 

The Hub will enable RWE to strengthen its relationship with the region’s businesses and local communities, by committing to a longer-term presence in the area. As it bids to expand its global renewables portfolio to more than 13GW by the end of 2022 by investing a total €5 billion, RWE reported adjusted operating profit of €1110m in 2021. With the commissioning phase of the Triton Knoll project integral to offsetting the impact of weaker wind conditions in 2021, overall RWE reported adjusted EBITDA of €3.65 billion, up from €3.29 billion.

“After an eventful year, we expect an excellent result for fiscal 2021, mainly driven by a strong fourth quarter in our Hydro/Biomass/Gas segment,” concluded RWE CFO Michael Muller. “In 2021 we also continued to successfully forge ahead with our wind and solar portfolio, both in project development, construction and operations.

“We are well on track in delivering on our Growing Green Strategy.”