Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm

The wind farm, which will consist of 88 turbines, is planned to start production in 2011.

When fully operational, its annual electricity production is expected to be around 1.1TWh, enough energy to power around 220,000 UK homes.
Total investments are estimated at approximately NOK 10 billion.

Until now, the 315 MW Sheringham Shoal project has been owned 100% by StatoilHydro. Through an agreement, Statkraft will acquire 50% of
the shares in the project, thus becoming an equal partner with StatoilHydro.

Sheringham Shoal is already under construction and will be developed according to schedule, with StatoilHydro as the operator during the
construction phase. The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm will be the most important wind farm project in both StatoilHydro’s and
Statkraft’s wind energy portfolios. The partnership and the decision to develop the project are a significant milestone in both companies’
ambitions in the field of offshore wind.

“Europe is facing massive growth in renewable capacity by 2020, and 50% of the growth is expected to come in wind power.
Statkraft is already Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy, and it has extensive experience of onshore wind power. The partnership
with StatoilHydro will take us into the offshore wind industry as well – which is in line with our core growth strategy and within the
investment plans already communicated to the market,” says chief executive Bård Mikkelsen of Statkraft.

Sheringham Shoal, between 17 km and 23 km off the coast of the town of Sheringham in northern Norfolk, will cover an area of 35 square
kilometres. Construction started summer 2009, and a gradual start-up of production is scheduled for 2011.

The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm has received all the approvals needed for construction and operation.

Harbour Works Continue

The harbour works continue apace as the most recent photographs show. The pics were taken by my brother-in-law, Don Wilks whilst visiting Wells over the Christmas period.

I believe the dredger barge Kari Hege will commence dredging the channel this month, January 2010.

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More pics here

Wells Quay In The Snow

Snow arrived in Wells a week before Christmas with fresh snow fall each day. Looks nice to a distant observer but I’m sure not every one is pleased.

Update From Wells Harbour Master

Following my last post I contacted the Wells Harbour Master, Robert Smith, who replied almost immediately to my query about the harbour works bearing no resemblance to what was originally published. Below is am extract from his email response.

The new works going on down at the beach are coming together nicely so far, but please remember this is still a work in progress and will not look, when its finished in the Spring, like it does today, i.e. a building site. The sand batter (breakwater) we hope will vegetate within six months so hopefully will blend in as natural dunes. This is quite an important stage as the batter will help protect the area where the vessels will moor from easterly and southerly storms, as the Beach bank and the Lifeboat point to the north protects the area from the other directions.

The jetty and pontoons will be arriving early February and should be in place by the end of February and the first boats are expected to arrive end of March.

The dredger during the next week or two will be going to the shipyard in Gt. Yarmouth to have some modifications to the spudlegs. Once it returns mid-December, we will then start digging in the channel.

Work Continues On Outer Harbour

After seeing the proposals for the ‘new jetty’ at Wells-next-the-Sea I was under the impression that a finger pier was to be built out from the beach bank with floating pontoons running parallel to the bank about 30 meters from the bank. At least that is how it was shown in the artist’s impression published elsewhere online and shown below.

It is obvious that this is not the case and it now appears that an ‘outer harbour’ is being built. A considerable amount of work has been done, and a lot more to be done. The ‘outer harbour’ is being built to support the new Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm.

Wells Harbour Works

As can be seen from the pictures work is proceeding at a pace on the new harbour facility at Wells-next-the-Sea.

Wells-next-the-Sea Harbour Works

A good start has been made to work at Wells-next-the-Sea harbour in preparation for the support of the Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm. As can be seen from the pictures the efforts so far have concentrated on the new berths south of the lifeboat house. Not only has the Kari Hege been busy but there has been a lot of construction work from the land.

Not having visited the site I cannot add any more comments about this side of the work or display any pictures but I hope that you find the aerial pictures interesting.

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Pictures by Mike Page

Official Christening Of Kari Hege

A champagne christening for the dredging vessel Kari Hege working to improve access into Wells harbour was hailed a “significant moment” in the port’s history.

The 200-tonne barge “Kari Hege” began work on October 5 to deepen parts of the main channel in preparation for the £1bn Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm, due to be built by the end of 2011.

It was named after Kari Hege Mørk, stakeholder manager for the Norwegian-owned energy company behind the project, who broke a champagne bottle over her namesake’s hull in traditional fashion.

The improved channel will allow longer tidal access times for service boats and crews maintaining the 88 turbines during their 50-year lifespan.

The dredger – comprising an excavator mounted on the motorised barge Kari Hege will work until March to level the channel to a low-tide depth of 1m, after which it will be regularly maintained. It uses GPS tracking to ensure the work is precise while sand and gravel is moved aside, but not taken away.

Wells Harbour Has Great Future

An historic agreement was signed by the Wells Harbour Commissioners and Scira Offshore Energy Ltd, the developer or the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm on 23rd June 2009.

The agreement confirms that Scira will use Wells Harbour as its operational base for the wind farm for a period of up to 50 years. As a result a new commercial jetty with pontoons will be constructed SW of the Lifeboat House. Added to this the channel from the new jetty to the harbour mouth will be deepened to allow greater access to the jetty by a longer tidal window. Continue reading

Albatros

The sailing ship Albatros at Wells-next-the-Sea. She has now become almost a fixture of Wells harbour as she has spent so much time in the port.

Wonderful Wells

Wells-Next-The-Sea is a wonderful, quaint seaside town situated on the charming North Norfolk coast. Renowned for its traditional seaside pleasures, it is home to everything I love about the seaside, amusement arcades, sandy beaches, fish ’n’ chips and ice-creams. There is so much to experience, view and enjoy here, to satisfy all walks of life and it’s a terrific way to leave behind the hectic city life to enjoy quality family time.

The sounds of the waves lapping against the shore whilst enjoying an afternoon stroll along the beach or through the busy pine woods. The laughter from children excitedly collecting pebbles and shells to decorate their newly built sand castles. The noise of the narrow gauge railway train, pulling into the station bringing people to the glorious beach. Families enjoying fresh seafood whilst on the quay supervising their children crabbing. The sighting of boats coming into the port after a day’s fishing for crabs, shrimps and whelks are just a few of the memories I have from this beautiful town.

Wells-next-the-Sea still holds a lot of its historical character. The town is a delightful network of narrow streets and old yards. With many small souvenir shops scattered throughout the town. You can always pick up a bargain or two, particularly from the “Pound Shop” situated near the Buttlands or from the car boot market.

During the summer, usually the first week in August Wells-next-the-Sea hosts a traditional and long running Carnival. Various events take place over a one week period including, competitions, BBQ‘s, workshops, disco, fun fairs and much more. Not forgetting the impressive open aired concerts that are held on the Buttlands, for people to dance and a sing a long to. The most important event of the week is the Carnival Parade, which allows people to dress up, compete for prizes and entertain. This parade commences and finishes at the Buttlands, making its way through the town, where many residents and holidaymakers line the streets to clap and cheer. This town certainly becomes alive during this time, bringing together many residents and holidaymakers, for a fun packed week.

Even though the town is situated a mile away from the sandy beach, it is easily assessable via the narrow guage railway train that runs every ten minutes, or by car as parking is available but soon fills up in the summer. The car park is situated behind the pine woods which leads you out onto the glorious beach and sand dunes. From here you will be able to see for miles towards Holkham to the west and Blakeney to the east. The beach itself is very inviting, scattered with lots of brightly coloured beach huts, and much wildlife.

Wells-next-the-Sea offers a selection of places to dine out such as hotels, coffee and sandwich shops, restaurants, public houses, take-away and of course the incredibly tasty fish ‘n’ chips shops situated on the quay. With regards to accommodation, the town offers plenty of bed and breakfast, cottages and hotel. From my own experience the greatest place in the Pinewoods Caravan Park. This is situated very close to the beach and offers fantastic facilities for staying in caravans and/or tents. Located on site are all the necessary amenities to make your holiday as enjoyable as possible.

Having spent many happy years there growing up as I child, I would highly recommend Wells-next-the-Sea for a fantastic family holiday, and I can ensure that once you visit you will never forget!

Alongside At Wells-next-the-Sea

Local boats and visiting yachts peacefully moored alongside the boat pontoons at Wells quay.

Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk  is a very popular destination for foreign yachts as well as British yachts. More visitors arrive from Europe each year as the facilities improve for yachts within the harbour.

The busiest time is usually Carnival week when the town has so much more to offer.