World’s largest wind farm moves forward towards lighting up 3.3 million homes

Hornsea 3 connected its first export cable from the North Sea seabed to the UK coast on March 26.

The project is developed by Ørsted, a Danish energy company headquartered in Fredericia; Hornsea 3 has a planned capacity of 2.9 GW and is expected to be completed around the end of 2027.

The export cable comprises two HVDC cables plus a fiber-optic cable; it will carry power from the offshore turbines to land and then travel about 31 miles (50 km) underground to the converter station at Swardeston, Norfolk.

NKT is the export cable supplier and began making the cables three years ago; Jan De Nul will transport and install 422 miles (680 km) of export cables.

Hornsea 3 will be Ørsted’s third gigawatt-scale project in the Hornsea zone (following Hornsea 1 at 1.2 GW and Hornsea 2 at 1.3 GW). It is part of the Round 3 wind farm in the North Sea about 75 miles (120 km) off England’s east coast (construction began in 2018); Round 3 will total 6 GW, contributing toward the UK’s 50 GW offshore wind target by 2030.