全世界最大的海上風力發電廠於23日正式展開運作，賽恩特(Thanet)風力發電廠位於英國東南方海岸線離英吉利海峽12公里的Forness Point。
這個風力發電廠為瑞典能源巨擘所擁有，佔地35平方公里，擁有100個發電渦輪，具有300百萬瓦的發電能力，將可以提供相當於超過20萬戶的英國家庭年用電量。
啟用儀式在海上舉行，Vattenfall總裁兼董事長洛瑟斯(Oystein Loseth)以及英國能源與氣候變遷大臣休恩(Chris Huhne)皆參與其中。Vattenfall是英國最大的風力發電公司之一，也是歐洲第五大能源公司。為了達到2011年的目標，這家公司將會在6個國家興建9個風力發電廠，以供給相當於80萬戶家庭每年用電量的能源需求。
Vattenfall董事長洛瑟斯表示，「風力發電將會是Vattenfall達到永續以及利潤目標的基石，這個企劃如果沒有英國政府的大力支持以及對替代能源的承諾，將不可能完成。」休恩大臣指出，有了這個具有300百萬瓦發電量的風力發電廠的貢獻，英國將有超過5000百萬瓦的總風力發電量，也就是5吉瓦(Gigawatts)，將足以供給蘇格蘭所有家庭的用電量。這個風力發電廠更將讓英國的海上風力發電量一舉提升30%以上。
賽恩特海上風力發電廠的興建工程只花了約兩年的時間，並且預計可以至少運作25年。每一組Vestas V90渦輪從制高點有115公尺高。
有了賽恩特風力發電設施的貢獻，英國已經成為全世界風力發電量最大的國家。
休恩大臣表示，「我們正站在一個特殊的地位，將成為這個產業的世界領袖。我們是一個島國，而我堅定地相信，我們應該善加利用天然資源發電，將風力、海浪、以及潮汐的資源利用到極致。」
根據RenewableUK的資料，目前在英國包括同意興建風力發電設施，正在興建中以及規劃中的系統在內，加起來共有將近18吉瓦的風力發電量。在這18吉瓦的發電量完成開發後，加上現有的5吉瓦的發電量，將可以供應超過英國每年1/3的能源消耗量。
The world's largest offshore wind farm officially opened today in the English Channel 12 kilometers from Foreness Point, off England's southeast coast.
Owned and operated by the Swedish energy giant Vattenfall, the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm has 100 turbines and covers an area of 35 square kilometers .
With 300 megawatts of generating capacity, the wind farm will generate electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 200,000 British households.
The opening ceremony took place at sea with Vattenfall CEO and President Oystein Loseth and British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, among the participants.
Vattenfall is one of the biggest wind power operators in Britain and the fifth largest energy producer in Europe. To meet its 2011 target, the company will be constructing nine wind farms in six countries to supply electricity equivalent to the demand of 800,000 households annually.
"Wind power will be a cornerstone of delivering both profitability and sustainability for Vattenfall in the years to come," said Loseth. "This project would not have been possible without the British government's active support and its commitment to renewable energy."
Secretary Huhne said that the wind farm's 300 megawatts of generating capacity will take UK's total installed wind power capacity past 5,000 MW, or five gigawatts and boosted UK offshore wind capacity by more than 30 percent.
"I'm pleased that we've reached the point where 5GW of our energy comes from onshore and offshore wind - that's enough electricity to power all the homes in Scotland," said Huhne.
The construction of the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm has taken just over two years and the wind farm is expected to operate for at least 25 years. Each of the Vestas V90 turbines stands 115 meters tall at its highest point.
With the Thanet facility now operational, Britain generates more offshore wind power than the total generated in all the rest of the world.
"We are in a unique position to become a world leader in this industry," said Huhne. "We are an island nation and I firmly believe we should be harnessing our wind, wave and tidal resources to the maximum."
The UK currently has nearly 18 GW of wind capacity either consented, in construction or in the planning system, according to RenewableUK. When this is added to today's five GW of built capacity, it represents more than a third of the country's current annual energy consumption.
全文及圖片詳見：ENS報導
