Prime Minister champions inward investment at London Array and Battersea Power Station
The Prime Minister is championing inward investment, opening London Array and visiting the Battersea Power Station site redevelopment.
The Prime Minister first attended the inauguration of London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm located 12 miles off the Kent and Essex coasts in the outer Thames Estuary.
A ceremony was held to mark the occasion at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, Kent, from where the wind farm’s 175 turbines can be seen.
London Array will be able to power the equivalent of around half a million UK households and should help reduce harmful CO2 emissions by more than 900,000 tonnes a year. As well as marking a big step forward for UK renewable energy generation it will help ensure a reliable electricity source for the south east.
Speaking at the inauguration, Prime Minister David Cameron said:
This is a great day for Kent and a great day for Britain. London Array has been built by some of the bravest seamen, the most talented engineers and hardest workers. It will bring benefits to Kent for years to come.
More than 75 organisations and 6,700 individuals were involved in its construction, with up to 1,000 people working on site. The lessons learned are expected to help reduce the cost of future offshore wind farms.
Inward investment for the project came from Denmark-based DONG Energy, the E.ON Group and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar.
Later, the PM joined Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in London for the official groundbreaking ceremony of the 39-acre Battersea Power Station site redevelopment.
The long-awaited project will transform the area into a vibrant new neighbourhood and see the iconic Grade II* listed power station fully restored and opened to the public, 30 years after it was decommissioned.
Some 3,500 new homes, shops, restaurants and offices will be built, set in a 6-acre riverside park with the power station at its heart.
The redevelopment will generate 15,000 new jobs and has attracted inward investment from a Malaysian-led consortium of SP Setia, Sime Darby and EPF, with redevelopment undertaken by the British-based Battersea Power Station Development Company.