Thornton Bank wind farm. (Image credit: RWE)

The Belgian Prime Minister has officially inaugurated the Thornton Bank offshore wind farm. After the completion of the first development stage of the wind farm, there are now six 5 MW wind turbines. Additional three sections are going to be added by 2013, bringing the total installed capacity to 300 MW. RWE has purchased a stake in the Thornton Bank wind farm earlier in the year, and has ownership of 27% of the project.

This wind farm is important not only for Belgium, but also for the global wind industry, as it represents the first offshore deeper water installation, but also a wind farm with wind turbines with one of the highest capacities in the world at the moment.

The first construction phase has been accompanied by the laying of a 150 kV cable below the sea surface. Oncoming phases of the project will bring a substation at sea, as well as additional cables.

In addition to this project, RWE Innogy is planning a much larger project in the German North Sea, the Innogy Nordsee 1, some 40 km away from Juist island. The planned wind farm will have 960 MW of wind power output.