Offshore Construction Start

Offshore construction for the Lynn offshore wind farm, developed alongside the adjacent Inner Dowsing project off the Lincolnshire coast, began in 2007. A Crown Estate Marine Data Exchange summary notes that Centrica Renewable Energy Ltd (CREL) commenced construction of the Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms that year, marking the transition from development into physical build-out at sea. The projects are located roughly 5–8.5km off the Lincolnshire coast and together comprise 54 turbines, split evenly between Lynn and Inner Dowsing. Prior to this, Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, had announced in March 2007 that construction work for the offshore site, approximately three miles off the coast, was scheduled to commence in spring 2007, while onshore works to connect the export cable in Lincolnshire were already under way. This announcement accompanied a major investment decision, including a contract with Siemens Power Generation to supply fifty-four 3.6MW turbines for what was then described as an approximately £300 million, 180MW development. Subsequent technical reporting confirms that foundations for all 54 turbines were installed during 2007, and that construction of the combined Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms had started. Together, these sources show that offshore construction activities at the Lynn site, including installation of turbine foundations and associated offshore works, were under way during 2007. This established the physical basis for later turbine erection and commissioning, which continued through 2008, ultimately enabling the wind farms to reach full operational status in the following years.