UK offshore wind farm saved by Middle East investment fund

An Abu Dhabi investment fund has stepped in to secure the future of London Array, the world’s largest planned offshore wind farm.

The London Array project was rocked earlier this year when Shell pulled out, expressing concerns over the profitability of the scheme after projected costs rose to more than £2bn,

But the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar Initiative has now bought a 40 per cent stake in E.ON’s half share of the London Array Scheme, giving it a 20 per cent stake overall. Denmark’s Dong Energy owns the other half of the project.

The London Array project is situated in the outer Thames Estuary, east of London and will consist of up to 271 turbines, generating enough power for three-quarters of a million homes.

Once the project gets the official green light the scheme will be built more than 20km off the Kent and Essex
coasts. The wind farm will be installed on a 90 square mile site and will be built in two stages. It is hoped the first stage will be completed in 2012 and will consist of up to 175 turbines. The second stage will add enough capacity to bring the total to 1,000MW.

More from the official press release here.