During the years 2010 and 2011, the Walney (UK) Offshore Windfarms Ltd. has constructed the Walney 1 and Walney 2 offshore wind farms, located approximately 15km off Walney Island, Cumbria, in the Irish Sea in the UK.

Walney 1 and Walney 2 both comprise 51 turbines with a total capacity of 367.2MW. The development includes foundations, turbines, export and array cables, offshore substations and onshore connection to grid.

Due to their scale, the Walney offshore wind farms will contribute significantly to a low-carbon future. They will help the UK achieve its target of reducing CO2 emissions by providing clean electricity now and in the future for approximately 320,000 UK households, ie one and a half times the number of households in Cumbria.

Constructed sequentially
With DONG Energy as the leading partner in the construction, the Walney offshore wind farms have been constructed according to the multi-contract principle, working in close cooperation with all the contractors and suppliers. At the same time, the project has optimised the installation time through parallel installation.

Crane barges, jack-up vessels and tugs worked out of ports in the East Irish Sea area, primarily Barrow and Mostyn harbours.

First power from Walney 1
The first power from the Walney 1 Offshore Windfarm was generated at 15:24 on Thursday 13 January 2011 as turbine C05 was put into operation (see chart of the area) and its first power was supplied to the national grid through the onshore transformer station in Heysham. 

On Thursday 1 November 2011, the first power from the Walney 2 was supplied to the national grid at Cleveleys near Blackpool. Less than 24 months after the first foundation was put into place, both offshore wind farms were in operation early 2012.

Operation and maintenance of the wind farms is based in Barrow-in-Furness and comprise approximately 60 people, providing opportunities for partnerships with local business throughout the project lifetime and creating jobs in the Furness area.