Onshore Construction Start

In 2008, SSE Renewables reports that onshore construction work for the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm began around Sizewell in Suffolk. These works related to the project’s onshore grid connection and substation infrastructure, forming the critical interface between the offshore turbines and the UK electricity network. The decision to commence onshore construction followed earlier key milestones: Greater Gabbard had been awarded development rights from The Crown Estate in 2003, and planning permission was granted four years later, in 2007. With consent in place, the project could move from development and planning into physical delivery onshore. The start of onshore construction around Sizewell marked the first major civil works phase for the project, laying the groundwork for later offshore installation and eventual power export. It demonstrated that the project sponsors, including SSE Renewables as operator, were committing capital and resources to build the grid connection assets required to transmit power from the wind farm’s 140 turbines to the National Grid. This onshore activity preceded further development of the project’s operational footprint in the region, including the selection of Lowestoft as the operations and maintenance base in 2009. Together, these steps underpinned Greater Gabbard’s transition from a consented scheme to an operational 504MW offshore wind farm supplying low‑carbon electricity to hundreds of thousands of UK homes from 2012 onward.