UK Reports Point To Wind, Tide Power Deployment
Date: 27-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Gerard Wynn
An aerial view of a wind farm near Middlesbrough, northern England December 18, 2008.
Photo: Nigel Roddis
LONDON - Britain on Monday removed a key obstacle to installing up to 7,000 wind turbines in the North Sea, and narrowed a shortlist of projects for generating up to 9 gigawatts of tidal power.
Together the new offshore wind and tidal power plans could generate power equivalent to more than half the country's capacity now, exploiting Britain's extensive coasts, but they are a decade or more from completion.
The energy and climate change ministry said wind power developments should minimize wider impacts, for example on the tourism and fishing industries, by installing new turbines at least 22 kilometers from the coast.
Britain is trying to give private investors better clarity on prospects for renewable power, as it tries to get 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 compared to about 2 percent now, under European Union targets.
"In terms of electricity, offshore wind power could potentially make the single biggest contribution to our 2020 renewable energy target so it's vital we maximize the UK's natural resources to help in the fight against climate change," said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband.
The next step is a public consultation, and the country will decide within months on a specific offshore wind power target.
Britain has 8 GW pipeline of offshore wind power built or in a construction pipeline. The government anticipates potential planning consents for a further 25 GW from 2010, and construction of these from 2015.
UK energy regulator Ofgem last week appointed advisers to aid a competitive bidding process to build the necessary grid to connect such offshore wind power, in contracts worth more than 10 billion pounds ($13.81 billion).
Separately, Britain on Monday announced five possible projects to generate power from a large tidal area in south-west England, called the Severn estuary, subject to a final decision in 2010.
The largest of the projects could generate 8.6 gigawatts (GW) of tidal power, and would cost an estimated 21 billion pounds.
Added to a possible 33 GW of offshore wind, that could create some 42 GW of renewable power, compared to about 80 GW of total UK generating capacity now.
But the inconstancy of wind power means 40 GW of onshore and offshore wind could only displace about 6 GW of conventional fossil fuel power, while generating far more than that over the course of a year, according to the Carbon Trust, which advises UK companies and the government on cutting carbon emissions.