Wednesday 9 February 2011
EON gets greenlight for Humber wind farm
E.ON has been given the go-ahead to build a 230MW wind farm off the coast of Humberside.
The Humber Gateway wind farm will be located 8km off the Holderness Coast in the East Riding of Yorkshire and will have the capacity to provide up to 150,000 homes with energy from 77 turbines.
Michael Lewis, managing director of E.ON's European renewables business, said: "This is really exciting news for us as we see offshore wind as an important part in the future energy mix of the UK.
"It's essential that we continue to invest in renewable technologies and this is further recognition of our expertise in the sector generally and in offshore wind in particular."
E.ON was granted onshore planning consent for a new substation on industrial land near Salt End earlier this year. The substation will connect the Humber Gateway wind farm to the national grid via 30km of underground cable.
Once operational, Humber Gateway will be E.ON's fifth offshore wind farm in the UK. The company already owns and operates the UK's first offshore wind farm off the cost of Blyth in Northumberland. E.ON is also a partner in the London Array, which will be the world's largest offshore wind farm when built.
Last year, 40%of all offshore wind turbines built in Europe were developed by E.ON.
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne today said: "Offshore wind not only provides clean, green, secure energy, [but] the investment that comes with it is great for the UK economy too.
"A new wind farm off the Humberside coast will be a further jobs and investment boost for the region, hot on the heels of Siemens' announcement of plans to develop the Port of Hull."
This week has also seen E.ON unveil plans to trial a new Smart Pay As You Go scheme for small to medium enterprises.
The project has been developed with Secure Meters (UK) to help business customers manage cash flow and reduce the risk of debt.
With the ability to monitor energy usage daily, customers will not only be able to predict their energy consumption but also budget and control it.
Arslan Sharif, head of e-commerce at E.ON, said: "We understand that times are difficult for some of our customers, which is why we are constantly looking at ways to improve the products and services that we offer. This is the main reason behind the trial and why it will be interesting to see our customers' feedback on it."
