Spanish energy company Iberdrola has unveiled a video showcasing the social aspects of working on the construction of the 714MW East Anglia 1 offshore wind farm off the east coast of England.
The ‘United by the wind’ film is a documentary talking to over 20 workers from the company and its suppliers involved with the project.
The themes covered include the importance of teamwork, companionship and training in building a wind farm of this size, as well as EA1’s impact on the local economy.
Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galan said: “There are thousands of people doing professional jobs, selflessly, because they believe in what they are doing. Companies are people.”
EA1 project director Charlie Jordan described the workers on the wind farm as “different people, of different nationalities, working together with the same purpose and in the same direction”.
The documentary takes a tour of the most emblematic places related to the renewable installation, Iberdrola said.
These include: the offices of ScottishPower, Iberdrola’s UK subsidiary, in London; Bawdsey, Ipswich and Bramford, where the six underground cables run and join two others laid along the seabed to connect the wind farm to the national grid; and Lowestoft, where the operations and maintenance base is located.
Lowestoft College, where employees are trained to work at sea, is also part of the video, as is Sestao, Aviles and Fene in Spain, where the project’s foundations were made.
EA1’s construction port of Great Yarmouth is also showcased, as well as the project itself, some 50km off the coast of Suffolk.
The documentary also tells of two valuable findings made during construction.
Excavations for the underground cable works at Woodbridge brought to light remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval periods.
These included a road from the Neolithic period made by a series of wooden planks dating back to 2300 BC.
Within the area of the offshore wind farm at the bottom of the sea, a World War I submarine was found that disappeared in 1915.
The submarine reportedly struck a mine on the English east coast and sank with the entire crew of 31.
Its discovery yielded useful data about what happened during this historical period, Iberdrola said.
EA1 will comprise 102 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines, with the halfway mark on installation reached last week.
First power from the project was delivered in September with full commissioning next year.
Macquarie’s Green Investment Group has a 40% stake in the project, with ScottishPower Renewables owning the remainder.