After four years under construction, with 175 massive wind turbines from Siemens, England’s game-changing offshore wind power farm, the London Array, is finally complete. The farm, one of the largest in the world, is about 20 kilometers (12 and a half miles) off the coasts of Kent and Essex, and covers an area that is about 100 square kilometers (38 square miles).
The London Array can provide 630MW of electricity, which is about the size of a large coal or nuclear plant, and can power over half-a-million homes in the U.K. per year. It is feeding directly into London — hence the name — and is helping England meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.
British Prime Minister David Cameron officially inaugurated the London Array late last week. Power companies Dong Energy and E.ON own 50 percent and 30 percent respectively, and Masdar owns 20 percent.
Building the giant offshore wind farm hasn’t been without controversy — back in 2008, oil giant Shell, which was one of the original backers, pulled out of the deal, leaving the farm’s construction uncertain.
It’s hard to imagine how powerful the London Array is without seeing its size and scale. Here’s a variety of photos that the group released late last week:
-
1 / 18London ArrayTransmission for London Array -
2 / 18London ArrayTransmission for London Array -
3 / 18London ArrayCleve Hill Substation, London Array -
4 / 18London ArrayFinal turbine, London Array -
5 / 18London ArrayFinal turbine, London Array -
6 / 18London ArrayFinal turbine, London Array -
7 / 18London ArrayFinal foundation, London Array -
8 / 18London ArrayFinal foundation, London Array -
9 / 18London ArrayWorker, London Array -
10 / 18London ArrayPropellor, turbine, London Array -
11 / 18London ArrayTurbine, London Array -
12 / 18London ArrayTurbine, London Array -
13 / 18London ArrayTurbine, London Array -
14 / 18London ArrayTurbine, London Array -
15 / 18London ArrayTurbine, London Array -
16 / 18London ArrayPropellor of a turbine at London Array -
17 / 18London ArrayFirst foundation of the London Array -
18 / 18London ArrayThe first foundation of the London Array
Updated at 2:40 PM BST with the square miles of the area that the London Array spans across.

{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2013\/07\/08\/the-massive-london-array-offshore-wind-farm-is-finally-done-and-its-awesome\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_331a9fd5bf3c3ca3af3f2421050e887b","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}