£1bn Norfolk wind farm goes ahead

Work is due to begin this spring on a massive £1bn wind farm project in Norfolk, creating hundreds of construction jobs.

The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm scheme will kick off with the laying of 22.6km of underground on-shore 130KV cabling.

But it is understood that the project’s promoter, Scira Offshore Energy, which is 100% owned by Norwegian giant StatoilHydro, has not yet chosen a contractor to carry out the job.

The offshore foundations work, however, will be carried out by Norwegian firm MT Hojgaard and installation work is expected to begin next year.

And in the summer of 2010, under a £7m contract, Dutch firm Visser & Smit Marine Contracting, a division of VolkerWessels, will install two 21.5 km of submarine cable from the windfarm site to landfall at Weybourne on the Norfolk coast.

The total area of the wind farm site will cover around 35 km2 and is expected to feature 88 wind turbines.

The entire project is due for completion in 2011.