The 8MW Alaska Wind Farm, located in Dorset, England, has begun operation. The wind farm, developed by a joint venture between Infinergy Advanced Assets and Holme Estate, is the first large-scale wind project in Dorset, a region with limited potential for onshore wind development due to environmental constraints and technical challenges, including landscape designations and limited grid connection options.
The wind farm, situated near Wareham, shares its grid connection with an adjacent solar farm, optimizing the use of the local grid network.
A spokesperson for the project commented: “We are delighted that the wind farm has now reached full operation. It hasn’t always been plain sailing, due to grid connection delays the construction stage took longer than anticipated. With that behind us, we can now look forward to supplying a substantial amount of green power to the local network for years to come, whilst making an important contribution to Dorset’s renewable energy ambitions.”
The facility, located at Masters Quarry in East Stoke, consists of four refurbished Vestas V80 2MW wind turbines, previously in operation for 10 years in Belgium before being refurbished, transported, and reassembled by Dutch specialists Business In Wind.
The wind farm is expected to generate approximately 17GWh of renewable electricity annually over its 20-year lifespan.
