What Is the East Anglia Wind Project? A Deep Dive
 Topic: east anglia one |  Read Time: 5 mins |
 Landowner type: Institutional landowners |  Energy:Offshore wind | Onshore wind |
27th September 2024Are you looking for information on the East Anglia wind project off the coast of the UK?
This guide will cover everything you need to know about East Anglia ONE or the newer East Anglia TWO, THREE or ONE North developments.
The East Anglia wind project currently comprises four large-scale offshore wind farms, located in the North Sea off the British coast. Together they represent a significant contribution to the UK’s renewable energy sector, with a substantial total installed capacity.
Despite its prominence, you may not know a lot about this project. When did local authorities grant planning permission? How big are the turbines at each site? What level of investment has each site received?
This guide will answer all of your questions.
So, let’s take a look at the East Anglia wind project and find out everything there is to know about this world-leading offshore wind site.
What Are the Different Branches of the East Anglia Wind Projects?
East Anglia ONE
| Turbine capacity | 7 MW |
| Number of turbines | 102 Siemens Gamesa turbines |
| Turbine height and blade length | 167 metres/75 metres long |
| Cost | £2.5 billion total investment |
| Total capacity | 714 MW |
| Employs | 3,500 people across several countries |
East Anglia ONE is located around 43 km offshore within the East Anglia Zone. Initially, the Iberdrola Group proposed an installed capacity of 1,200 MW.
The electrical cabling for the project runs north of Ipswich and connects to the National Grid at Bramford. These cables are huge. Two extend an impressive 85 km, while the other six measure 37 km each.
For context, the two largest cables span roughly the distance from London to Cambridge, while the shorter ones cover the equivalent of Sheffield to Doncaster.
Developers submitted the planning application for the large-scale project in December 2012, and local authorities granted planning permission in June 2014. This meant the entire planning process took just over a year and a half.
Initially, ScottishPower intended for the project to be significantly larger. However, due to insufficient subsidies, the company had to scale back its plans. As a result, they reduced the capacity to 714 MW in February 2015.
The offshore turbines the Iberdrola Group are using for East Anglia ONE each have a capacity of around 7 MW. This is huge compared to onshore turbines. The turbines use high-quality jacketed foundations to deal with the pressure at depths of 30 to 40 metres below sea level.
Although authorities cleared the project for construction in 2014, ScottishPower didn’t start building until 2017. They completed the first turbine in June 2019, with full construction finished by April 2020. The site became operational in July 2020, making it the first completed and fully operational phase of the East Anglia wind project.
It produces enough electricity to power 700,000 homes and is a vital source of renewable energy that’ll contribute to the country’s net-zero target.
The maintenance base is located in Lowestoft Port and comprises a maritime coordination centre, technical offices and a warehouse.
East Anglia TWO
| Turbine capacity | up to 19MW |
| Number of turbines | 75 |
| Turbine height and blade length | 282 metres above sea level, with a blade tip height of 300 metres |
| Cost | £3 billion |
| Total capacity | 960 MW |
East Anglia TWO is an offshore wind farm located around 32.6 km off the Suffolk coast. The project is expected to have a final operational capacity of 960 MW, though the final figure may vary.
The wind farm is huge and takes up an almighty 218.4 square kilometres. East Anglia TWO received approval later than the other phases of this wind project, in March 2022. However, it’s set to come together quite quickly. The developers started construction in 2024 and is set to complete the project by 2026.
Four electrical platforms collect the electricity, along with two export cables that transport the electricity to shore.
East Anglia THREE
| Turbine capacity | between 7 MW and 12 MW |
| Number of turbines | 100 |
| Turbine height and blade length | 262 metre tip height and rotor diameter of 230 metres |
| Cost | £1.3 billion |
| Total capacity | 1,200- 1,400 MW |
| Employs | up to 2,300 people |
East Anglia THREE is the second phase of the East Anglia wind project. It promises up to 100 turbines, located 69 km off the coast of Great Yarmouth, with a potential capacity of up to 1,400 MW. This is enough to power around 1.3 million homes (or all the households in Manchester) – now that’s no mean feat.
ScottishPower submitted its initial proposal in November 2015, following public consultations between 2013 and 2015. Authorities accepted the application very quickly, and it got the green light in December 2015.
The wind farm will cover an area of approximately 305 square kilometres and will have one offshore converter station. It’ll also support up to four subsea export cables, designed to transmit electricity from the offshore platforms right to the shore.
Its onshore converter station is perched in Bramford and connects the wind farm to an existing substation with the National Grid.
Once it’s operational, the developers expect the wind farm to have a lifespan of up to 25 years. The construction team started work in 2022, and it’s hoped that it’ll be up and running by 2030.
East Anglia ONE North
| Turbine capacity | between 7MW and 12 MW |
| Number of turbines | 67 |
| Turbine height and blade length | 282 metres from sea level to blade tip |
| Cost | £2.5 billion |
| Total capacity | 900 MW |
| Employs | up to 2,300 people |
East Anglia ONE North is an offshore wind farm located approximately 36 km from the port of Lowestoft. With a planned generating capacity of 800 MW, it has the potential to supply enough electricity to power 900,000 UK households. While it is one of the smaller East Anglia projects, it is still a significant site, covering 203 square kilometres – enough to power every household in Birmingham.
This is the latest proposed project in the East Anglia wind project lineup. The government granted it a Development Consent Order in March 2022. It’s set to be ready by 2030 and should help the government reach their net-zero limits by 2050.
Believe it or not, this one wind project could meet nearly 5 per cent of the UK’s offshore wind deployment target for 2030. Now, that’s impressive.
ScottishPower has integrated the project with subsea cables, connecting the turbines to an offshore electrical platform. In addition, the plan includes six single-core onshore cables. The construction teams will install these using underground trenching to connect the wind farm to the grid.
How Much Installed Capacity Will the Project Add to the Country’s Wind Profile?
The East Anglia wind project currently consists of four branches, with some already operational and others still in development.
Overall, the turbines will add a whopping 3.974 GW of wind capacity to the UK’s energy mix. Alongside improvements to solar, hydroelectric and bio-energy, the move toward net zero is looking far more achievable.
Furthermore, the project will create anywhere between 3,368 and 7,242 jobs. This makes it a promising development for both the energy sector and the wider economy.
Ready to Get Involved?
If you’re interested in getting turbines on your land and contributing to the UK’s energy future, get in touch. Lumify Energy has helped countless landowners harness the true value of their land with large-scale wind farms.
We’ll walk you through every step of the process, from project planning to navigating leases and costs and selecting developers. Don’t wait – let’s make it happen.
