E.ON reaches milestone with English Channel wind farm

DUSSELDORF, Germany, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- German energy company E.ON said Friday it has finished anchoring all of the foundations for its flagship Rampion wind farm in the English Channel.

"The Rampion offshore wind farm in the English Channel has successfully completed an important stage of construction," the company said in a statement. "All 116 foundations are now firmly anchored in the sea bed."

The German company is developing Rampion with help from Canadian energy company Enbridge and the British Green Investment Bank. Turbines for the facility will be erected in early 2017.

The total amount of electricity generated from renewable energy resources in the United Kingdom during the first quarter of the year increased 6.4 percent from the same period last year. The government said there was an 11 percent decline for electricity generated from onshore wind, but a 10 percent increase for offshore wind.

Nine countries that share a border with the North Sea -- Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden – agreed this year to improve infrastructure to support offshore wind.

The British government said it's on pace to meet the goal of getting 30 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020, but the 12 percent target for heat and the 10 percent target for the transportation sector are lagging.

E.ON said the 400 megawatt wind farm would help cut regional emissions of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, by 600,000 tons per year. Work began on Rampion began in early February and the project is set for completion by 2018.