Anholt Offshore Wind Farm
The Anholt offshore wind farm project grew out of the Danish government’s initiative called Denmark's Energy Policy Agreement. Anholt has an overall capacity of 400 megawatts, is 20 kilometers long, and is up to 5 km wide. It has a total of 111 turbines that produce clean, renewable energy for the country - and currently covers 4% of Denmark's total power consumption.
The Anholt offshore wind farm project was brought to life shortly after Denmark's Energy Policy Agreement was signed into law. Denmark has committed to 100% renewable energy by 2050, and phasing out fossil fuels (including in all transportation and industry) by mid-century as well, with an additional ambitious goal of phasing out coal by 2030.
First conceptualized in 2008, the official construction of Anholt started in 2012, after the signing of Denmark's Energy Policy Agreement. Engineers who were granted the construction of the site underwent a series of tests to find the best location to position the offshore wind farm. The site was constructed in the Kattegat Straight, between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, in the waters near the island of Anholt. The area is noted for its fairly consistent seawater depths measuring about 15 to 20 meters.
Anholt environmental assessment
Before construction of the site, all of the possible environmental impacts to the marine ecosystems in the immediate sea area of development of the wind farm were considered, in Anholt offshore wind farm's environmental impact assessment. The construction team tried to lessen the impact on the sea beds and the diversity of life in the waters as they erected the wind farm.
Also, the developers of the Anholt offshore wind farm decided to build artificial reefs and set them down the waters along the site to restore natural biodiversity to the ecosystems in the site's area of development. The completion of the operation was capped in 2013. Anholt Offshore Wind Farm was inaugurated by the Queen of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II, in September 2013.
Anholt Offshore Wind Farm is testimony that this type of large-scale renewable energy project is a viable alternative. From the day it started generating power, the wind farm has been consistently providing enough electricity to households in Denmark to account for 4% of the country's total energy consumption. This offshore wind farm is surely an environmental project to replicate in different parts of the world.
Please see:
Copenhagen Bids to Become the World's First Carbon-Neutral Capital
Please also see:
renewable energy: wind (and offshore wind farms)