Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm

The Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located off the coast of Kent, England on a large, flat and shallow plateau just outside the main Thames shipping lanes. The wind farm is operated by Vattenfall.

Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm
Vestas V90 Wind Turbine Kentish Flats
CountryEngland, United Kingdom
LocationNorth Sea off the coast of Kent, South East England
Coordinates51°27′36″N 1°5′24″E
StatusOperational
Construction began
  • August 2004
Commission date2005
Owner(s)Vattenfall
Wind farm
TypeOffshore
Max. water depth3–5 m (10–16 ft)
Distance from shore5.5 mi (8.9 km)
Hub height70 m (230 ft)
Rotor diameter90 m (300 ft)
Site area10 km2 (3.9 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational45
Make and modelVestas V90-3MW / V112-3.3MW
Nameplate capacity139.5 MW
Capacity factor30%
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Location

The distance from the nearest wind turbine to Whitstable is 6.2 miles (10.0 km). The nearest turbine is 5.5 miles (8.9 km) away from Herne Bay.

Installation
Turbines at Kentish Flats, Kent, England, with the WWII gun platforms visible towards the right.
Satellite image of the Thames Estuary with Kentish Flats (pre-extension) bottom left.

Construction was completed in August 2005, with commissioning and testing of all turbines completed by September 2005. The wind farm consists of 30 Vestas V90-3MW wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 90 MW.[1] Turbines were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA.[2] Between 2007 and 2010, the capacity factor was around 30%.[3] Its levelised cost has been estimated at £66/MWh.[4]

Power is transmitted to shore via three export cables.[5]

Kentish Flats extension

In February 2013 Vattenfall was granted consent to extend the existing Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm.[6] 15 turbines each with a capacity of 3.3 MW were installed adding an extra 49.5 MW to the wind farm.[7] Offshore construction began in October 2014 and was operational by December 2015.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. RenewableUK. "RenewableUK - The Voice of Wind & Marine Energy". Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  2. "A2SEA presentation" (PDF). A2SEA. Export Promotion Denmark. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  3. Dunford et al. UK Renewable Energy Data, Issue 10 p69 Renewable Energy Foundation, 29 July 2010. Accessed: 30 September 2011.
  4. Aldersey-Williams, John; Broadbent, Ian; Strachan, Peter (2019). "Better estimates of LCOE from audited accounts – A new methodology with examples from United Kingdom offshore wind and CCGT". Energy Policy. 128: 25–35. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.12.044. hdl:10059/3298. S2CID 158158724.
  5. "Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm Extension, Kent". Power Technology. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. The Planning Inspectorate. "National Infrastructure Planning". Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  7. "Energy firm Vattenfall to add 15 turbines to Kentish Flats windfarm off the coast of Whitstable and Herne Bay costing £165m". Kent Online. 10 February 2015.
  8. Tim Yates. "RenewableUK - UK Wind Energy Database (UKWED)". Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.

Media related to Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm at Wikimedia Commons

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