The UK could soon be surrounded by a ring of giant off-shore wind turbines capable of generating nearly half of the country’s current energy consumption.

Energy Secretary John Hutton announced the scheme that will see thousands of 260 m tall turbines built in the North Sea, Irish Sea and around the coast of Scotland by 2020. The ambitious plans will provide 33GW of power.

Britain’s coal, gas, nuclear and other power stations are capable of generating 75GW of electricity but less than 5% currently comes from wind power. Each turbine in the new plans would be capable of powering some 8000 homes. A network of conventional power stations will be retained as standby generation for rare windless days.

Hutton said: “Next year the UK will overtake Denmark as the country with the most offshore wind capacity. This offshore project could be a major contribution towards meeting the EU’s target of 20% of energy from renewable resources by 2020.”

Under the proposals the whole of the UK’s continental shelf would be opened up to development, including the English Channel and coast of northern Scotland, where winds are most reliable. This would mean that turbines would be visible from almost every point on the British coast. The plans will be subjected to an environmental assessment.

Source

Building Sustainable Design