East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm

Placed in the North Sea —about 50 kilometres from the coast of the English county of Suffolk—, East Anglia ONE External link, opens in new window. had an investment of 2.5 billion pounds and is owned 60 % by Iberdrola Group and 40 % by the Green Investment Group (GIG), of the Macquarie group.

The project started up on schedule. In fact, around 20 % of the installation of the turbines was carried out during the lockdown period in the United Kingdom, which forced the company and its professionals to change their working methods: smaller boats were fitted out to reduce the crews as much as possible, spaces were created for professionals to live together to avoid contact with people outside the project and specific health protocols were developed, avoiding changes to the teams.

In addition, within the framework of its continuous support to the economic growth of the areas in which it operates, ScottishPower Renewables has awarded a company from Great Yarmouth, a town on England's Norfolk coast, a major contract for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). Gibb Safety & Survival will be responsible for supplying the project with protective clothing, equipment for working at height, and rescue, survival and marine equipment. This team will also be responsible for the maintenance and management of the PPE.

Additionally, the construction of East Anglia ONE has driven Europe's fledgling offshore wind farm industry, employing 3,500 people in several countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates) and being key for various industries, such as the naval sector. To these jobs must be added the 100 permanent and skilled jobs generated for the operation and maintenance of the park at the Lowestoft base on the east coast of the United Kingdom, about 200 kilometres from London.

Technical features of East Anglia One

• The farm covers an area of 300 km², which is equal to 40,000 football pitches.
• East Anglia ONE features 102 wind turbines, each producing 7 MW, supplied by Siemens Gamesa. They reach a height of 167 metres (two metres higher than the Iberdrola Tower in Bilbao, Spain), with 75 metre long blades.
• The jacket type foundations were manufactured by Navantia in Fene (Galicia, Spain) and by Lamprell in the United Arab Emirates and by Harland & Wolff in Belfast (Ireland). Windar built the piles in Avilés (Asturias, Spain).
• The Andalucía II marine substation, manufactured by Navantia in Puerto Real (Cádiz, Spain), will be in charge of collecting the electricity produced by the wind turbines and transforming the voltage to transport it to the coast. To do so, two transmission cables, each nearly 85 km long, were laid on the sea bed.
• These cables are connected to a further six underground cables approximately 37 km long, from Bawdsey to a new transformer at the land-based Burstall sub-station, which connects the offshore wind farm to the national grid.

• The maintenance and operations base, located in Lowestoft Port, will handle daily operations for the fleet over its 30+ year working life. Opened in 2019, it consists of the maritime coordination centre, technical offices and warehouse, and about a hundred people are employed on site.

Gisela Pulido: among the wind turbines of East Anglia ONE

Iberdrola ambassador and ten-time world champion, Gisela Pulido, achieved a challenge never before achieved, sailing her kitesurf board in an offshore wind farm, specifically in East Anglia ONE. After travelling more than 50 km from the port of Lowestoft, from where the expedition set off, the ScottishPower wind farm became the ideal setting for such a special sailing experience. Gisela was out in the open sea, alone with the windmills, her kite, her board, and only one energy: the wind.

'United By The Wind' documentary 

Within the framework of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25), Iberdrola Group presented the United by the wind documentary, which shows the most social aspect of the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm. More than twenty workers, both from the company and from several of its suppliers, tell us about the importance of teamwork, companionship and training to set up an infrastructure of this magnitude and complexity, as well as the driving effect that this development is having on local economies.

VAccess the full documentary

One of the biggest renewable installations in the world

East Anglia ONE is part of a much more ambitious project. Iberdrola will be promoting a macro wind farm called East Anglia Hub, which will incorporate another three farms: East Anglia ONE North, East Anglia TWO and East Anglia THREE. Work will begin on the new development, which will add up to a total installed capacity of 3,100 MW, in 2022 and will require an investment of 6.5 billion pounds (more than 7.6 billion euros).

'Frond Mats' initiative

In response to the company's on-going commitment to wind power research and innovation, ScottishPower is developing the Frond Mats initiative (vegetation covers) in the waters of the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm, which uses synthetic undersea vegetation to reduce the effects of currents and is designed to protect wind turbines from the effects of erosion, resulting in huge economic savings.

Iberdrola, world leader in renewable energies

At Iberdrola, we dare committed to renewable energy more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build our safe, clean and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, we are today world leaders in renewables, reaching 44,148 MW of clean energy in operation at the end of september 2024.

This commitment is reflected in our Strategic Plan, in which we will allocate €15.5bn gross to renewables. More than half of this amount is focused on offshore wind in the US, UK, France and Germany; 28% on onshore wind and 18% on solar.