Offshore Construction Start

Offshore construction for the combined Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms, including the 27‑turbine Inner Dowsing array, commenced in 2007 under the leadership of Centrica Renewable Energy Ltd (CREL). A project summary from The Crown Estate’s Marine Data Exchange explicitly records that CREL began construction of the Lynn and Inner Dowsing (LID) offshore wind farms in 2007, marking the transition from development and test activities into the main offshore build phase. This followed earlier preparatory work, including a geotechnical test pile driven at the Lynn site in April 2006 to validate monopile drivability and gather site‑specific engineering data, which helped de‑risk foundation installation for the full project rollout. Centrica’s March 2007 media release framed this transition, noting that offshore construction work at the sites off the Lincolnshire coast was scheduled to start in spring 2007, supported by a major turbine supply contract with Siemens Power Generation for fifty‑four 3.6 MW units and an overall project budget of about £300 million. Subsequent technical reporting by Power Technology confirms that the Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms had entered their construction phase, with turbine foundations and interconnecting power cables installed during 2007 as part of a multi‑stage build programme covering onshore substation works, offshore foundations, cabling, and turbine erection. Collectively, these sources establish 2007 as the year when substantive offshore construction activities began at the Inner Dowsing site as part of the wider LID project.