Thorntonbank Wind Farm

First phase The first phase was built by C-Power, at a cost of €153 million. It was commissioned in June 2009. The first phase of what will ultimately be a 325 MW wind farm was completed in September 2008. The six REpower 5 MW turbines, which were installed on concrete gravity foundations, were linked to the Belgian power grid, giving a total rated capacity of 30 MW for the first stage. The full story of the design, engineering, construction and installation of the Thorntonbank Wind Farm (first phase) is told in an illustrated book that was published in November 2010. Second and third phase In these phases, a total of 48 additional wind turbines of 6.15MWp were installed. Phase 2, completed in October 2012, comprises the installation of 30 of the 48 wind turbines. In the third and last phase, completed in September 2013, the remaining 18 wind turbines were installed, bringing the total capacity to around 325 MW. == Environmental assessment ==

Research was by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) and the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO ) == Financing ==

Thorntonbank was only the second offshore wind farm to be project financed. ==Gallery==

File:Windmill D1 (Thornton Bank).jpg|Wind turbine D1 File:Windmills D1-D6 (Thornton Bank) - final construction phase.jpg|Wind turbines D1 to D6 File:Windmill bases (Oostende - from southwest).jpg|Wind turbine bases under construction File:Windmill bases (Oostende - from northwest).jpg|Wind turbine bases under construction File:Offshore windpark Thorntonbank.jpg|As seen from the Belgian coast, demonstrating the curvature of the Earth; the more distant windmills look to be underwater ==See also==