Off-shore wind power could generate enough electricity to supply every home in the UK by the end of the next decade, the government announced.
One of 30 wind turbines in the Kentish Flats wind farm, which produces up to 90 MW of renewable energy for the UK.
Another 5,000-7,000 wind turbines could generate enough electricity by next decade, concludes a British government energy department study.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change study concluded that another 5,000-7,000 wind turbines could be built off the coast by 2020, generating 25 GW of energy, equivalent to 25 large coal-fired power stations. The new capacity would be on top of 8GW already being built or in planning, making a total of 33GW.
The results of the year-long research into the geology, birds and marine life goes even further than the Carbon Trust, a company set up by government to help businesses reduce carbon emissions, which last year said the UK could build a total 29GW of off-shore wind.
However, the announcement was clouded by claims from the energy company E.ON that the economics of what is the UK’s biggest current off-shore wind project, the London Array off the coast of Kent and Essex, were “on a knife edge”.
By Andrew Williams •
October 21, 2008
The UK government announced today that Britain has overtaken Denmark to become the world’s biggest producer of offshore wind power.
The rise to the top of the global league table follows the construction of a new wind farm off the coast of Skegness, Lincolnshire, which increases the UK’s total electricity generation from offshore wind sources to 590 megawatts (MW), enough to power 300,000 homes.
By Andrew Williams •
September 4, 2008
European Union officials are studying plans for an international wind power grid in the North Sea that could provide energy generated from renewable sources to 70 million European homes. The proposed offshore grid would be more than 3850 miles long, and connect more than 100 wind farms, containing a total of 10,000 turbines to seven countries.
By Andrew Williams •
August 27, 2008
Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman has joined the “Gang of 16,” a bipartisan group of senators that supports using offshore oil revenues to pay for increased investment in renewable energy.
By Maria Surma Manka •
February 23, 2007
A new study funded by the University of Delaware and Stanford University reports that offshore wind power could supply almost all of the East Coast’s energy needs. This is the first time a study has looked at just how much wind energy offshore farms could produce in this area of the country.
Wind power has had to fight some battles out East, most notably on Cape Cod, MA. There, some
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By Maria Surma Manka •
January 20, 2007
Many thanks to reader Perry Ruth for sending along this story about a great first for the Great Lakes.
The largest fresh water system in the world could soon see its very first wind turbine spinning. An Ohio taskforce of policymakers, businesses, and legal experts are proposing massive wind turbines that could power tens of thousands of homes (up to 20 megawatts) and spur economic development, research, and jobs.
