Record-breaking year for wind farms off Skegness coast

2015 was the most productive year to date for the farms, both in terms of power generated and the availability of the turbines, that is, when they were not out for maintenance or repairs and the conditions were right for their use.

The LID (Lynn and Inner Dowsing) and Lincs Wind Farm facilities were opened in 2008 and 2013 respectively and are owned and operated by Centrica.

The amount of power produced by the turbines last year was equivalent to running 450,000 homes (1,756 MwH). This is based on an average annual domestic usage of 3.8 MwH per year.

This is an increase of 50,000 homes on 2014 and about 120,000 homes more on what is expected to produce a year – enough for more than 330,000.

Tribute has been paid to the people responsible for the turbines’ operation.

In 2015, some 166,200 worker hours were put into the facilities.

Tony Lyon, Centrica’s head of renewables, said: “We’re immensely proud of what’s been achieved by the team during 2015.

“Their hard work and dedication during the year helped set new records for generation and increased the availability of both the Lincs and Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farms.

He added: “The 129 turbines, which can been seen just off the Skegness coast, are a significant part of the region’s energy supply and are capable of producing enough power for more than 330,000 homes.”

Among the dedicated duties performed by staff is climbing the 100m-high turbines to carry out maintenance, repairs, or check-ups.

In 2015, this happened 1,583 times – roughly once a month for each turbine in the 129-strong array.