Wind farm debut

On the weekend of 11-12 July 2009, RWE npower renewables' Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm is expected to generate power for the first time from its location off the north Wales coast.

Weather permitting, the first of the wind farm's 25 turbines will export its first power to shore as construction works continue on site to complete installation of the remaining wind turbines and subsea cables.

Power from the wind farm is taken to shore by subsea cables, and then via underground cables to the recently completed substation at Towyn, where the electricity is converted for transmission over the national electricity grid.

In the coming months, the other 24 turbines will come on-line and it is expected that the wind farm will become fully operational during the final quarter of 2009.

Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm will generate enough power to meet the annual electricity needs of around 61,000 homes. It will prevent the release of tens of thousands of tonnes of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, every year that would otherwise be produced by traditional fossil-fuel burning energy generation.