All 27 turbines at the 62MW windfarm have been installed and 13 of them are already generating electricity. The Teesside project is owned jointly by EDF Energy and EDF Energies Nouvelles and managed by their joint venture EDF Energy Renewables.
The project's development, engineering and construction have been entirely handled by EDF Group and its completion is an important step in establishing EDF Group's credentials in the offshore wind energy industry.
Offshore construction work on the Teesside scheme started in February 2012 and the project is EDF Energy Renewables' first UK offshore wind farm.
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Once fully operational, the wind farm will produce enough low carbon electricity to supply the annual needs of approximately 40,000 homes, or the equivalent of most of the households in Redcar and Cleveland. It will offset the annual release of approximately 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
EDF Energy Renewables CEO Christian Egal said: "This marks an important moment for the company and we are now working towards the wind farm becoming fully operational in the near future. I would like to thank the teams involved in getting us to this milestone.
"The Teesside wind farm demonstrates our expertise and commitment to contributing to a diverse, low carbon generation mix for the UK.
"Developments like this were intended as pioneering projects. Experience gained here builds our credentials as a major player in wind energy and it will be invaluable in the development of other offshore wind farms."
As the project moves from the construction phase to becoming fully operational, responsibility for the scheme will transfer to a new EDF Energy Renewables' operational team.
It's expected that 16 new jobs, based at the Port of Hartlepool, including a maintenance team for turbine manufacturer Siemens, will be created to support the windfarm.
(CD/JP)
