[1] The first phase was built by C-Power and consists of six REpower offshore wind turbines of 5 MW capacity on the Thornton sandbank, at a cost of €153 million.

[6] 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.

[1] These wind turbines have been installed on steel jacket foundations designed by OWEC Tower AS and assembled at the Smulders shipyard in Hoboken.

[1][11] To assess the environmental impact C-Power has enlisted the assistance of the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO[12]) and the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO [13]) to obtain the most detailed possible information on the occurrence of these animal species at Thornton Bank and to assess the possible effect of a wind farm on them.

[14] Offshore wind farms create new structures at sea and by definition they therefore pose an additional risk to the safety of shipping.