ScottishPower Renewables has started onshore construction for its 1,400 MW East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the UK.

The initial focus of the East Anglia Three construction programme will be on the onshore converter station at Bramford in Suffolk – in partnership with Siemens Energy and Aker Solutions – and along the cable route, working with NKT which signed the contract with ScottishPower Renewables in July.

NKT is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the 320 kV DC export cable system which includes approximately 2 x 150 kilometres of offshore cable and about 2 x 40 kilometres of onshore cable.

The HDVC cables will be produced in Karlskrona, Sweden, with a low carbon footprint as the factory is running on 100 per cent green electricity.

“Offshore wind is key for the green transition of the UK power supply and with the potential to supply over one million UK homes with green offshore wind energy, this project is an important step in connecting a greener world”, said Claes Westerlind, Executive Vice President, Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona at NKT.

Work on the construction access road at the onshore converter station is currently underway and drainage and earthworks are planned to be completed by the end of the year.

Highway works for the three construction compounds along the cable corridor have already started, with three access roads and one compound expected to be completed by the end of August.

East Anglia Three, which was awarded Contracts for Difference (CfD) in July from the UK Government, is located approximately 70 kilometres from shore in the Southern North Sea.

The wind farm is part of ScottishPower Renewables’ GBP 6.5 billion (around EUR 7.7 billion) East Anglia Hub project which also includes two other offshore wind projects: the 800 MW East Anglia One North and the 900 MW East Anglia Two.

Once completed in 2026, the Hub projects are expected to deliver around 3 GW of clean power in total and will support up to 7,000 jobs and 200 training opportunities across their development, construction, and operations, ScottishPower Renewables said.