Wind power in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
By mid-2011, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.7 gigawatts and the UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power
. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than 2 GW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years. Within the UK, wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy after biomass
.
2010 saw the completion of some significant projects in the UK wind industry with the Gunfleet Sands
, Robin Rigg
and Thanet
offshore wind farms coming on stream. Over 1.1 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2010, a 3% increase on 2009. There was a 38% drop in onshore installations to 503 MW compared with 815 MW in 2009 but there was a 230% increase in offshore installations with 653 MW installed (compared with 285 MW in 2009).
A 2004 study by the Royal Academy of Engineering
found that wind power cost 5.4 pence per kWh for onshore installations and 7.2 pence per kWh for offshore, compared to 2.2p/kWh for gas and 2.3p/kWh for nuclear. By 2011 onshore wind costs at 8.3/kWh had fallen below new nuclear at 9.6p/kWh, though it had been recognised that offshore wind costs at 16.9p/kWh were significantly higher than early estimates mainly due to higher build and finance costs, according to a study by the engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald
. Wind farms are made profitable by subsidies through Renewable Obligation Certificates which provide over half of wind farm revenue. The total annual cost of the Renewables Obligation topped £1 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach £5 billion by 2020, of which about 40% is for wind power. This cost is added to end-user electricity bills. Sir David King has warned that this could increase UK levels of fuel poverty
.
As of October 2011, there were 310 operational wind farms in the UK, with 3,421 turbines and 5,767 MW of installed capacity. A further 3,482 MW worth of schemes are currently under construction, while another 5,292 MW have planning consent and some 9,253 MW are in planning awaiting approval.
In 2007 the UK Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of EU’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Each EU member state was given its own allocated target; for the UK it is 15%. This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive
. As renewable heat and fuel production in the UK are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35–40% of the UK’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date, to be met largely by 33–35 GW of installed wind capacity.
In December 2007, the Government announced plans for an expansion of wind energy in the UK, by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of up to 25 GW worth of wind farm offshore sites in preparation for a new round of development. These proposed sites are in addition to the 8 GW worth of sites already awarded in the 2 earlier rounds of site allocations, Round 1 in 2001 and Round 2 in 2003. Taken together it is estimated that this would result in the construction of over 7,000 offshore wind turbines.
The United Kingdom became the world leader of offshore wind power generation in October 2008 when it overtook Denmark
. It also has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, the Thanet wind farm, located off the Kent
coast. Currently it has 1,525 MW of operational nameplate capacity, with a further 2,054 MW in construction. The UK has been estimated to have over a third of Europe's total offshore wind resource, which is equivalent to three times the electricity needs of the nation at current rates of electricity consumption, although this is only at times when the wind blows.
(In 2010 peak winter demand was 59.3 GW, in summer it drops to about 45 GW). One estimate calculates that wind turbines in one third of UK waters
shallower than 25 metres (82 ft) would, on average, generate 40 GW; turbines in one third of the waters between 25 metres (82 ft) and 50 metres (164 ft) depth would on average generate a further 80 GW, i.e. 120 GW in total). An estimate of the theoretical maximum potential of the UK's offshore wind resource in all waters to 700 metres (2,296.6 ft) depth gives the average power as 2200 GW.
The first developments in UK offshore wind power came about through the now discontinued Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation
(NFFO), leading to two wind farms, Blyth Offshore and Gunfleet sands. The NFFO was introduced as part of the Electricity Act 1989 and obliged UK electricity supply companies to secure specified amounts of electricity
from non-fossil sources, which provided the initial spur for the commercial development of renewable energy
in the UK.
The UK will require 7,500 offshore turbines by 2020 to meet EU targets.
, the owner of almost all the UK coastline out to distance of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km), to build offshore wind farms. The result was a set of guidelines published in 1999, to build "development" farms designed to give developers a chance to gain technical and environmental experience. The projects were limited to 10 square kilometers in size and with a maximum of 30 turbines. Locations were chosen by potential developers and a large number of applications were submitted. Seventeen of the applications were granted permission to proceed in April 2001, in what has become known as Round 1 of UK offshore wind development.
The first of the Round 1 projects was North Hoyle
Wind Farm, completed in December 2003. Ten more have since been completed, the most recent being Ormonde
in August 2011. They provide a total power generating capacity of 1.1 GW. The final project, Teeside
, has planning consent and is awaiting construction. Five sites were withdrawn, including the Shell Flat
site off the coast of Lancashire
.
, the Thames Estuary
and the area beyond The Wash
, called the Greater Wash, in the North Sea. Development was prevented in an exclusion zone between 8 and 13 km offshore to reduce visual impact and avoid shallow feeding grounds for sea birds. The new areas were tendered to prospective developers in a competitive bid process known as Round 2. The results were announced in December 2003 with 15 projects awarded with a combined power generating capacity of 7.2 GW. By far the largest of these is the 1.2 GW Triton Knoll
. As before a full Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) would be needed along with an application for planning consent.
The first of the Round 2 projects was Gunfleet Sands II, completed in April 2010 and followed by Thanet in September. Five other sites are currently under construction.
The Crown Estate proposed 9 offshore zones, within which a number of individual wind farms would be situated. It ran a competitive tender process to award leases to consortia of potential developers. The bidding closed in March 2009 with over 40 applications from companies and consortia and multiple tenders for each zone. On 8 January 2010 the successful bidders were announced.
Following the allocation of zones, individual planning applications still have to be sought by developers. These are unlikely to be completed before 2012 and as such the first Round 3 projects are not expected to begin generating electricity before 2015.
The complete list of sites including power updates and developer name changes:-
The first wind farms in the UK were built onshore, and they currently generate more power than the offshore farms. The first commercial wind farm was built in 1991 at Delabole
in Cornwall, it consisted of 10 turbines each with a capacity to generate a maximum of 400 kW. Following this, the early 1990s saw a small but steady growth with half a dozen farms becoming operational each year, the larger wind farms tended to be built on the hills of Wales, examples being Rhyd-y-Groes, Llandinam, Bryn Titli and Carno
. Smaller farms were also appearing on the hills and moors of Northern Ireland and England. The end of 1995 saw the first commercial wind farm in Scotland go into operation at Hagshaw Hill. The late 1990s saw sustained growth as the industry matured. In 2000 the first turbines capable of generating more than 1MW were installed and the pace of growth started to accelerate as the larger power companies like Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern became increasingly involved in order to meet legal reguirements to generate a certain amount of electricity using renewable means (see Renewables Obligations below). Wind turbine development continued rapidly and by the mid 2000s 2MW+ turbines were the norm. Growth continued with bigger farms and larger, more efficient turbines sitting on taller and taller masts. Scotland's sparsely populated, hilly and windy countryside became a popular area for developers and the UKs first 100MW+ farm went operational in 2006 at Hadyard Hill
in South Ayrshire. 2006 also saw the first use of the 3MW turbine. In 2008 the largest onshore wind farm in England was completed on Scout Moor and the repowering of the Slieve Rushen wind farm created the largest farm in Northern Ireland. In 2009 the largest wind farm in the UK went live at Whitelee
on Eaglesham Moor in Scotland. This is a 322MW wind farm consisting of 140 turbines. Approval has been granted to build several more 100MW+ wind farms on hills in Scotland and will feature 3.6MW turbines.
As of October 2011 there were 296 operational onshore wind farms in the UK with a total of 4242 MW of nameplate capacity. A further 1427 MW of capacity is being constructed, while another 3.6 GW of schemes have planning consent and 7.3 GW are in the planning stage.
In 2009 UK onshore wind farms generated 7,564 GW·h of electricity, this represents a 2% contribution to the total UK electricity generation (378.5 TW·h).
Large onshore wind farms are usually directly connected to the National Grid, but smaller wind farms are connected to a regional distribution network, termed "embedded generation". In 2009 nearly half of wind generation capacity was embedded generation, but this is expected to reduce in future years as larger wind farms are built.
Gaining planning permission
for onshore wind farms continues to prove difficult, with many schemes stalled in the planning system, and a high rate of refusal. The RenewableUK (formerly BWEA) figures show that there are approximately 7,000 MW worth of onshore schemes waiting for planning permission. On average a wind farm planning application takes 2 years to be considered by a local authority, with an approval rate of 40%. This compares extremely unfavourably with other types of major applications, such as housing, retail outlets and roads, 70% of which are decided within the 13-16 week statutory deadline; for wind farms the rate is just 6%.
Approximately half of all wind farm planning applications, over 4 GW worth of schemes, have objections from airports and traffic control on account of their impact on radar
. In 2008 NATS en Route, the BWEA, the Ministry of Defence and other Government departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding seeking to establish a mechanism for resolving objections and funding for more technical research.
, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MWh of electricity they have purchased. The Energy Act 2008 introduced banded ROCs for different technologies from April 2009. Onshore wind receives 1 ROC per MWh, however following the Renewables Obligation Banding Review in 2009 offshore wind now receives 2 ROCs to reflect its higher costs of generation. Wind energy receives approximately 40% of the total revenue generated by the RO. The ROCs are the principal form of support for UK wind power, providing over half of the revenue from wind generation.
Small wind systems under 50 kW previously received 2 ROCs, but are now eligible for support under the Feed In Tariff.
Wind-generated power is a variable resource, and the amount of electricity produced at any given point in time by a given plant will depend on wind speeds, air density, and turbine characteristics (among other factors). If wind speed is too low (less than about 2.5 m/s) then the wind turbines will not be able to make electricity, and if it is too high (more than about 25 m/s) the turbines will have to be shut down to avoid damage. If this happens during a winter cold snap
, when winds are calm over large regions and electrical demand reaches its highest levels of the year, other power sources must have the capacity of meeting that entire demand.
Three reports on the wind variability in the UK issued in 2009, generally agree that variability of the wind does not make the grid unmanageable; and the additional costs, which are modest, can be quantified. In the UK, demand for electricity is higher in winter than in summer, and so are wind speeds.
While the output from a single turbine can vary greatly and rapidly as local wind speeds vary, as more turbines are connected over larger and larger areas the average power output becomes less variable. In practice, the variations in thousands of wind turbines, spread out over several different sites and wind regimes, are smoothed, rather than intermittent. As the distance between sites increases, the correlation between wind speeds measured at those sites, decreases. This has been confirmed recently by studies conducted by Graham Sinden from Oxford University:
A 2011 report authored by wind farm critic Stuart Young and supported by the John Muir Trust
, said that Scotland’s wind farms are only delivering a fraction of the power their builders claim. The report looked at wind farm output over a 26 month period between November 2008 to December 2010 using data from the industry’s Balancing Mechanism Reporting System. The report concluded that wind power "cannot be relied upon to provide significant levels of power" and "that there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the use of the energy source in future". There was an "angry response" to the report from the energy industry, and the body representing Scotland’s renewable energy refused to recognise the figures. Jenny Hogan, Director of Policy for Scottish Renewables, said: "We have no confidence in these unofficial figures", and added: "It could be argued the Trust is acting irresponsibly given their expertise lies in protecting our wild lands and yet they seem to be going to great lengths to undermine renewable energy which is widely recognised as one of the biggest solutions to tackling climate change". An independent study investigated the JMT report by cross-referencing Renewable Obligation Certificates over the same study period and concluded that wind farms performed much better due to data problems with the BMReports website upon which the JMT Report was based.
A Scottish government spokesman has said electricity generated by renewables accounted for 27% of Scotland's electricity use. On the evening of the 5th into the 6th of April, 2011, the wind in Scotland was high, it was raining heavily, which also created more hydroelectricity than normal. The grid became overloaded and a transmission fault in the system "meant the surplus energy could not be transferred to England and so generation had to be cut". Wind farms operators "were paid £900,000 by the National Grid to disconnect their turbines for one night because the electricity was not needed". A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), described this situation as "unusual" and said more electrical storage was needed, adding: "In future we need greater electrical energy storage facilities and greater interconnection with our EU neighbours so that excess energy supplies can be sold or bought where required."
There is some dispute over the necessary amount of reserve or backup required to support the large-scale use of wind energy due to the variable nature of its supply. In a 2008 submission to the House of Lords
Economic Affairs Committee, E.ON UK
argued that it is necessary to have up to 80–90% backup. National Grid which has responsibility for balancing the grid reported in June 2009 that the electricity distribution grid could cope with on-off wind energy without spending a lot on backup, but only by rationing electricity at peak times using a so-called "smart grid", developing increased energy storage technology and increasing interconnection with the rest of Europe. In June 2011 several energy companies including Centrica
told the government that 17 gas-fired plants costing £10 billion would be needed by 2020 to act as back-up generation for wind. However as they would be standing idle for much of the time they would require "capacity payments" to make the investment economic, on top of the subsidies already paid for wind.
Related UK pages
Developers of UK wind
Other related
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than 2 GW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years. Within the UK, wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy after biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
.
2010 saw the completion of some significant projects in the UK wind industry with the Gunfleet Sands
Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm
Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm 172MW wind farm 7 km off the Clacton-on-Sea and Holland Essex coast in the Northern Thames Estuary, commissioned on 15 June 2010. It has 48 Siemens Wind Power wind turbines of 3.6 MW capacity each. Construction began in March 2008 and the first two turbines...
, Robin Rigg
Robin Rigg Wind Farm
Robin Rigg Wind Farm, Scotland's first offshore wind farm, has been constructed by E.ON at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth, a sandbank midway between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts. The windfarm first generated power for test purposes on 9 September 2009...
and Thanet
Thanet Offshore Wind Project
The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. As of September 2010, it is the world's biggest offshore windfarm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780-900 million...
offshore wind farms coming on stream. Over 1.1 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2010, a 3% increase on 2009. There was a 38% drop in onshore installations to 503 MW compared with 815 MW in 2009 but there was a 230% increase in offshore installations with 653 MW installed (compared with 285 MW in 2009).
A 2004 study by the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
found that wind power cost 5.4 pence per kWh for onshore installations and 7.2 pence per kWh for offshore, compared to 2.2p/kWh for gas and 2.3p/kWh for nuclear. By 2011 onshore wind costs at 8.3/kWh had fallen below new nuclear at 9.6p/kWh, though it had been recognised that offshore wind costs at 16.9p/kWh were significantly higher than early estimates mainly due to higher build and finance costs, according to a study by the engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald
The Mott MacDonald Group is an employee-owned company management, engineering and development consultancy serving the public and private sectors world-wide...
. Wind farms are made profitable by subsidies through Renewable Obligation Certificates which provide over half of wind farm revenue. The total annual cost of the Renewables Obligation topped £1 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach £5 billion by 2020, of which about 40% is for wind power. This cost is added to end-user electricity bills. Sir David King has warned that this could increase UK levels of fuel poverty
Fuel poverty
A household is said to be in fuel poverty when they cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost, given it's income. The term is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, although the concept also applies everywhere in the world where poverty may be present.As the term fuel...
.
As of October 2011, there were 310 operational wind farms in the UK, with 3,421 turbines and 5,767 MW of installed capacity. A further 3,482 MW worth of schemes are currently under construction, while another 5,292 MW have planning consent and some 9,253 MW are in planning awaiting approval.
In 2007 the UK Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of EU’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Each EU member state was given its own allocated target; for the UK it is 15%. This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive
Renewables Directive
The Renewables Directive is a European Union directive which mandates levels of renewable energy use within the European Union. Published 23rd April, 2009, its official title is 2009/28/EC...
. As renewable heat and fuel production in the UK are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35–40% of the UK’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date, to be met largely by 33–35 GW of installed wind capacity.
In December 2007, the Government announced plans for an expansion of wind energy in the UK, by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of up to 25 GW worth of wind farm offshore sites in preparation for a new round of development. These proposed sites are in addition to the 8 GW worth of sites already awarded in the 2 earlier rounds of site allocations, Round 1 in 2001 and Round 2 in 2003. Taken together it is estimated that this would result in the construction of over 7,000 offshore wind turbines.
Offshore wind farms
Wind power in Denmark
Wind power provided 18.9% of electricity production and 24.1% of generation capacity in Denmark in 2008, Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today almost half of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas and...
. It also has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, the Thanet wind farm, located off the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
coast. Currently it has 1,525 MW of operational nameplate capacity, with a further 2,054 MW in construction. The UK has been estimated to have over a third of Europe's total offshore wind resource, which is equivalent to three times the electricity needs of the nation at current rates of electricity consumption, although this is only at times when the wind blows.
(In 2010 peak winter demand was 59.3 GW, in summer it drops to about 45 GW). One estimate calculates that wind turbines in one third of UK waters
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
shallower than 25 metres (82 ft) would, on average, generate 40 GW; turbines in one third of the waters between 25 metres (82 ft) and 50 metres (164 ft) depth would on average generate a further 80 GW, i.e. 120 GW in total). An estimate of the theoretical maximum potential of the UK's offshore wind resource in all waters to 700 metres (2,296.6 ft) depth gives the average power as 2200 GW.
The first developments in UK offshore wind power came about through the now discontinued Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation
Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation
The Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation refers to a collection of orders requiring the electricity Distribution Network Operators in England and Wales to purchase electricity from the nuclear power and renewable energy sectors...
(NFFO), leading to two wind farms, Blyth Offshore and Gunfleet sands. The NFFO was introduced as part of the Electricity Act 1989 and obliged UK electricity supply companies to secure specified amounts of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
from non-fossil sources, which provided the initial spur for the commercial development of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
in the UK.
The UK will require 7,500 offshore turbines by 2020 to meet EU targets.
Round 1
In 1998 the British Wind Energy Association (now RenewableUK) began discussions with the government to draw up formal procedures for negotiating with the Crown EstateCrown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
, the owner of almost all the UK coastline out to distance of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km), to build offshore wind farms. The result was a set of guidelines published in 1999, to build "development" farms designed to give developers a chance to gain technical and environmental experience. The projects were limited to 10 square kilometers in size and with a maximum of 30 turbines. Locations were chosen by potential developers and a large number of applications were submitted. Seventeen of the applications were granted permission to proceed in April 2001, in what has become known as Round 1 of UK offshore wind development.
The first of the Round 1 projects was North Hoyle
North Hoyle
North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm is Wales' first offshore wind farm, and the UK's first major offshore renewable power project. Situated in Liverpool Bay, it commenced operation in 2003....
Wind Farm, completed in December 2003. Ten more have since been completed, the most recent being Ormonde
Ormonde
Ormonde was an English Thoroughbred racehorse, an unbeaten Triple Crown winner, generally considered to be one of the greatest racehorses ever.-Breeding:...
in August 2011. They provide a total power generating capacity of 1.1 GW. The final project, Teeside
Teesside Wind Farm
Teesside Wind Farm also known as Redcar Wind Farm is a consented offshore wind farm to be constructed just to the east of the mouth of the River Tees and 1.5 km north of Redcar off the Teesside coast, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by EDF Energy Renewables, a company jointly...
, has planning consent and is awaiting construction. Five sites were withdrawn, including the Shell Flat
Shell Flat
The Shell Flat Sandbank was the site of a proposed Cirrus Shell Flat Array offshore wind farm in Lancashire, England. It is located about off the coast between Blackpool and Cleveleys. The wind farm project was canceled in 2008.-History:...
site off the coast of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
.
Round 2
Lessons learnt from Round 1, particularly the difficulty in getting planning consent for offshore wind farms, together with the increasing pressure to reduce CO2 emissions, prompted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to develop a strategic framework for the offshore wind industry. This identified three restricted areas for larger scale development, Liverpool BayLiverpool Bay
Liverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence...
, the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
and the area beyond The Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
, called the Greater Wash, in the North Sea. Development was prevented in an exclusion zone between 8 and 13 km offshore to reduce visual impact and avoid shallow feeding grounds for sea birds. The new areas were tendered to prospective developers in a competitive bid process known as Round 2. The results were announced in December 2003 with 15 projects awarded with a combined power generating capacity of 7.2 GW. By far the largest of these is the 1.2 GW Triton Knoll
Triton Knoll
Triton Knoll Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm 33km off the coast of Lincolnshire, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Npower Renewables. If completed the farm will be the largest offshore farm in the world, consisting of 240 turbines with a nameplate capacity of...
. As before a full Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental impact assessment
An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....
(EIA) would be needed along with an application for planning consent.
The first of the Round 2 projects was Gunfleet Sands II, completed in April 2010 and followed by Thanet in September. Five other sites are currently under construction.
Round 1 and 2 Extensions
In May 2010 the Crown Estate gave approval for seven Round 1 and 2 sites to be extended creating an additional 2 GW of offshore wind capacity. Each wind farm extension will require a complete new planning application including an Environmental Impact Assessment and full consultation. The sites are:- Burbo BankBurbo Bank Offshore Wind FarmThe Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Burbo Flats in Liverpool Bay at the entrance to the River Mersey. It is owned and operated by DONG Energy. The wind farm consists of 25 Siemens Wind Power 3.6MW wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 90 megawatts...
and Walney: Dong Wind UK. - Kentish FlatsKentish Flats Offshore Wind FarmThe Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located off the coast of Kent, England on a large, flat and shallow plateau just outside the main Thames shipping lanes. The distance from the nearest wind turbine to Whitstable is . The nearest turbine is away from Herne Bay...
and Thanet: Vattenfall. - Greater GabbardGreater GabbardGreater Gabbard is a 500 MW wind farm under construction on sandbanks off the coast of Suffolk in England at a cost between £650 million to £1.5 billion...
: SSE Renewables and RWE Npower Renewables. - Race BankRace BankRace Bank Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 27 km north of Blakeney Point off the coast of Norfolk, and 28 km east of Chapel St Leonards off the Lincolnshire coast in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Centrica. The farm gets its name from a shallow...
: Centrica Renewable Energy. - DudgeonDudgeon Offshore Wind FarmDudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 32 km north of Cromer off the coast of Norfolk, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited , a subsidiary of Warwick Energy Limited...
: Warwick Energy.
Round 3
Following on from the Offshore wind SEA announced by the Government in December 2007, the Crown Estate launched a third round of site allocations in June 2008. Round 3 is envisaged on a much bigger scale than either of its predecessors – combined, Rounds 1 and 2 allocated 8 GW of sites, while Round 3 alone could identify up to 25 GW.The Crown Estate proposed 9 offshore zones, within which a number of individual wind farms would be situated. It ran a competitive tender process to award leases to consortia of potential developers. The bidding closed in March 2009 with over 40 applications from companies and consortia and multiple tenders for each zone. On 8 January 2010 the successful bidders were announced.
Following the allocation of zones, individual planning applications still have to be sought by developers. These are unlikely to be completed before 2012 and as such the first Round 3 projects are not expected to begin generating electricity before 2015.
Round 3 consortia
During the bidding process, there was considerable speculation over which companies had bid for the zones. The Crown Estate did not make the list public and most of the consortia also remained silent. The successful bidders for each zone were eventually announced as follows:| Zone | Zone name | Potential power (GW) | Developer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moray Firth | 1.3 | Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd | formed from EDP Renováveis EDP Renováveis EDP Renováveis is a leading renewable energy company headquartered in Madrid that designs, develops, manages and operates power plants that generate electricity using renewable energy sources.... and SeaEnergy Renewables Ltd (SERL) |
| 2 | Firth of Forth Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south... |
3.5 | Seagreen Wind Energy Ltd | partnership between SSE Renewables SSE Renewables SSE Renewables is a renewable energy subsidiary of Airtricity. Airtricity was founded in 1997 in Ireland and now is a renewable energy company owned by Scottish and Southern Energy... and Fluor Ltd |
| 3 | Dogger Bank | 9 | Forewind Forewind Forewind Limited is a consortium comprising four leading international energy companies - SSE Forewind Limited (Forewind) is a consortium comprising four leading international energy companies - SSE Forewind Limited (Forewind) is a consortium comprising four leading international energy companies... |
a consortium made up of SSE Renewables, RWE npower, Statkraft Statkraft Statkraft is a Norwegian state owned electricity company. With a total energy production of 44.9 TWh in 2007, the Statkraft Group is the third largest energy producer in the Nordic region, as well as the largest energy producer based on renewable energy sources in Europe,consisting of 40% of the... and Statoil Statoil Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro... . If built this would be the world's largest offshore wind farm. |
| 4 | Hornsea | 4 | Mainstream Renewable Power Siemens Financial Services Siemens Financial Services Siemens Financial Services GmbH is a subsidiary of Siemens AG. The company’s global headquarters is in Munich, Germany. The Financial Services division of Siemens offers international financing solutions in the business-to-business area. Financial Services serves Siemens as well as other companies... |
|
| 5 | Norfolk Bank | 7.2 | ScottishPower Renewables Vattenfall Vattenfall Vattenfall is a Swedish power company. The name Vattenfall is Swedish for waterfall, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board... AB |
Known as the East Anglia Array |
| 6 | Southern Array formerly "Hastings" | 0.6 | E.ON E.ON E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity.... |
Now known as Rampion |
| 7 | West of Isle of Wight Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent... |
0.9 | Eneco Eneco Energie Eneco, the trading name of Eneco Holding N.V., is one of the largest producers and suppliers of gas, electricity and heat in the Netherlands, serving more than 2 million business and residential customers. Eneco headquarters are located in Rotterdam... |
Now known as Navitus Bay Wind Park |
| 8 | Bristol Channel Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean... |
1.5 | RWE RWE RWE AG , is a German electric power and natural gas public utility company based in Essen. Through its various subsidiaries, the energy company contributes electricity and gas to more than 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers, principally in Europe... npower |
Known as the Atlantic Array Atlantic Array Atlantic Array is a proposed offshore wind farm development by RWE npower, planned for the Bristol Channel, off the coast of North Devon and South Wales... |
| 9 | Irish Sea | 4.2 | Centrica Centrica Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in... |
|
| Total | style="text-align:center;"|32.2 |
Scottish offshore
In addition to the 25 GW scoped under the Round 3 SEA, the Scottish Government and the Crown Estate also called for bids on potential sites within Scottish territorial waters. These were originally considered as too deep to provide viable sites, but 17 companies submitted tenders and the Crown Estate initially signed exclusivity agreements with 9 companies for 6 GW worth of sites. Following publication of the Scottish Government's sectoral marine plan for offshore wind energy in Scottish territorial waters in March 2010, six sites were given approval subject to securing detailed consent. Subsequently 4 sites have been granted agreements for lease.The complete list of sites including power updates and developer name changes:-
| Site Name | Potential power (MW) | Developer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argyll Array | 1800 | Scottish Power Scottish Power ScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola... Renewables |
||
| Beatrice Beatrice Wind Farm The Beatrice Wind Farm is a wind farm close to the Beatrice oil field in the Moray Firth, part of the North Sea off the east coast of Scotland.-Evaluation project:... |
1000 | SSE Renewables SSE Renewables SSE Renewables is a renewable energy subsidiary of Airtricity. Airtricity was founded in 1997 in Ireland and now is a renewable energy company owned by Scottish and Southern Energy... plc |
||
| Inch Cape | 1000 | Repsol Nuevas Energias SA EDP Renewables |
New partnership following dissolution of the original consortium | |
| Neart Na Gaoithe Neart Na Gaoithe In February 2009, Mainstream Renewable Power was awarded exclusive rights to develop Neart Na Gaoithe , a £1.1bn offshore wind farm with a potential capacity of 420 MW in the outer Firth of Forth, some 30 km north of Torness.In 2011, surveyors conducting a detailed preparatory survey of the... |
450 | Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd | ||
| Leased total | style="text-align:center;"|4,250 | |||
| Islay | 690 | SSE Renewables | Application to develop the site expected to be submitted to the Scottish Government towards the end of 2013 | |
| Solway Firth | E.ON E.ON E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity.... Climate & Renewables UK Developments |
Dormant - Unsuitable for development | ||
| Wigtown Bay | DONG Wind DONG Energy -History:The Danish state company Dansk Naturgas A/S was founded in 1972 to manage resources in the Danish sector of the North Sea. After some years, the company was renamed to Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S . At the beginning of 2000s, DONG started to extend itself into the electricity market by... (UK) |
Dormant - Unsuitable for development | ||
| Kintyre | Airtricity Holdings (UK) Ltd | Cancelled due to proximity to local communities and Campbeltown Airport Campbeltown Airport Campbeltown Airport is located at Machrihanish, west of Campbeltown, near the tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland... |
||
| Forth Array | Fred. Olsen Renewables Ltd | Cancelled. Fred. Olsen pulled out to concentrate on its onshore developments | ||
| Bell Rock Inchcape Inchcape or the Bell Rock is a notorious reef off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife . Bell Rock Lighthouse, an automatic lighthouse, occupies the reef... |
Airtricity Holdings (UK) Ltd Fluor Ltd |
Cancelled due to radar services in the area | ||
| Total | style="text-align:center;"|4,940 |
List of built and proposed offshore wind farms
| Farm | Completed | Estimated completion | Power (MW) | No. Turbines | Notes | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blyth Offshore Blyth Offshore Wind Farm Blyth Offshore Wind Farm is a small coastal wind farm located off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland.-History:Commissioned in December 2000 as a pilot project, the project was developed by a consortium that included E.ON, Shell Renewables, NUON and Border Wind... |
December 2000 | 4 | 2 | Evaluation project. | NFFO | |
| North Hoyle North Hoyle North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm is Wales' first offshore wind farm, and the UK's first major offshore renewable power project. Situated in Liverpool Bay, it commenced operation in 2003.... |
December 2003 | 60 | 30 | The UK's first major offshore wind farm. | 1 | |
| Scroby Sands Scroby Sands wind farm The Scroby Sands Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Scroby Sands sandbank in the North Sea, off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England, United Kingdom. It was commissioned in March 2004 by Powergen Renewables Offshore, a division of E.ON UK. It is expected to produce up to a maximum... |
December 2004 | 60 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Kentish Flats Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm The Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located off the coast of Kent, England on a large, flat and shallow plateau just outside the main Thames shipping lanes. The distance from the nearest wind turbine to Whitstable is . The nearest turbine is away from Herne Bay... |
December 2005 | 90 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Barrow Offshore Wind Barrow Offshore Wind The Barrow Offshore Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm in the East Irish Sea approximately south west of Walney Island, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, with an installed capacity of 90 MW. The 30 turbine wind farm was completed in June 2006 and first power was generated in... |
May 2006 | 90 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Burbo Bank Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm The Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Burbo Flats in Liverpool Bay at the entrance to the River Mersey. It is owned and operated by DONG Energy. The wind farm consists of 25 Siemens Wind Power 3.6MW wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 90 megawatts... |
October 2007 | 90 | 25 | 1 | ||
| Beatrice Beatrice Wind Farm The Beatrice Wind Farm is a wind farm close to the Beatrice oil field in the Moray Firth, part of the North Sea off the east coast of Scotland.-Evaluation project:... |
August 2007 | 10 | 2 | Deep water evaluation project. | ||
| Lynn and Inner Dowsing | October 2008 | 194 | 54 | 1 | ||
| Rhyl Flats Rhyl Flats Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a 25 turbine wind farm approximately 8 km north east of Llandudno in North Wales. It is Wales' second offshore wind farm and the third offshore wind farm to be built within Liverpool Bay... |
December 2009 | 90 | 25 | Officially inaugurated 2 December 2009 | 1 | |
| Gunfleet Sands Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm 172MW wind farm 7 km off the Clacton-on-Sea and Holland Essex coast in the Northern Thames Estuary, commissioned on 15 June 2010. It has 48 Siemens Wind Power wind turbines of 3.6 MW capacity each. Construction began in March 2008 and the first two turbines... |
April 2010 | 172 | 48 | Officially inaugurated 16 June 2010 | 1–2 | |
| Robin Rigg Robin Rigg Wind Farm Robin Rigg Wind Farm, Scotland's first offshore wind farm, has been constructed by E.ON at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth, a sandbank midway between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts. The windfarm first generated power for test purposes on 9 September 2009... |
April 2010 | 180 | 60 | The second largest operational offshore wind farm in the UK. | 1 | |
| Thanet Thanet Offshore Wind Project The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. As of September 2010, it is the world's biggest offshore windfarm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780-900 million... |
September 2010 | 300 | 100 | The world's largest operational offshore wind farm | 2 | |
| Ormonde Ormonde Wind Farm The Ormonde Wind Farm is a wind farm west of Barrow-in-Furness in the Irish Sea. The wind farm covers an area of . It has a total capacity of 150 MW and is expected to produce around 500 GWh of electricity per year.... |
August 2011 | 150 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Walney Walney Wind Farm Walney Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm currently under construction 14km west of Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria, in the Irish Sea, England. It is being developed by Walney Offshore Windfarms Limited, a partnership between Dong Energy and Scottish and Southern Energy. The farm is... |
2011–12 | 367 | 102 | Two phases under construction. Phase 1 operational. | 2 | |
| Sheringham Shoal Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm under construction in the United Kingdom by Scira, owned by Statoil and Statkraft with 50% each. Scira has leased the area from The Crown Estate for 40 years. The first turbine was connected to the grid in August 2011. The nearest turbine... |
Early 2012 | 317 | 88 | Under construction. Producing electricity. | 2 | |
| Greater Gabbard Greater Gabbard Greater Gabbard is a 500 MW wind farm under construction on sandbanks off the coast of Suffolk in England at a cost between £650 million to £1.5 billion... |
2012 | 504 | 140 | Under construction Generated first power Jan 2010. | 2 | |
| Lincs Lincs Wind Farm The Lincs Wind Farm is a wind farm currently under construction off Skegness on the east coast of England. Construction of the 270 megawatt project began in 2010 using 75 3.6 MW Siemens Wind Power wind turbines. The project, due to be operational in 2012, will cost £725 million ... |
2012 | 270 | 75 | Construction began March 2011 | 2 | |
| London Array London Array The London Array is an offshore wind farm under construction in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. With 1,000 megawatt capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm. The site is off the North Foreland on the Kent coast in the area of Long Sand and... |
2015 | 1,000 | 341 | Construction began March 2011, Phase 1 complete spring 2013. | 2 | |
| Teesside Teesside Wind Farm Teesside Wind Farm also known as Redcar Wind Farm is a consented offshore wind farm to be constructed just to the east of the mouth of the River Tees and 1.5 km north of Redcar off the Teesside coast, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by EDF Energy Renewables, a company jointly... |
Late 2012 | 62 | 27 | Consent granted September 2007. | 1 | |
| West Duddon | 389 | 108 | Consent granted in 2008. | 2 | ||
| Gwynt y Môr Gwynt y Môr Gwynt y Môr is a proposed 576 MW offshore wind farm located off the coast of North Wales. Planning consent for the project was granted on the 3rd of December 2008, and construction is expected to begin in 2011 with final commissioning in 2014.... |
2014 | 576 | 160 | Consent granted December 2008. Construction to begin late 2011 | 2 | |
| Humber Gateway Humber Gateway Wind Farm Humber Gateway Wind Farm is a consented offshore wind farm to be located 8 km east of Spurn Point off the coast of Humberside, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Humber Wind Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of E.ON UK plc. The farm gets its name from the estuary of the... |
2014 | 230 | 77 | Consent granted February 2011 | 2 | |
| Westermost Rough Westermost Rough Westermost Rough Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 8km north east of Withernsea off the Holderness coast, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Westermost Rough Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dong Energy... |
240 | 35 to 80 | Consent granted July 2011 | 2 | ||
| Docking Shoal Docking Shoal Docking Shoal Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 14km north of Wells-next-the-Sea off the coast of Norfolk, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Centrica. The farm gets its name from a shallow bank or shoal off the north coast of Norfolk where water depths range... |
500 | 83 to 177 | Planning application submitted in December 2008 | 2 | ||
| Race Bank Race Bank Race Bank Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 27 km north of Blakeney Point off the coast of Norfolk, and 28 km east of Chapel St Leonards off the Lincolnshire coast in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Centrica. The farm gets its name from a shallow... |
2015 | 620 | 88 to 206 | Planning application submitted in January 2009 | 2 | |
| Dudgeon Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm to be located 32 km north of Cromer off the coast of Norfolk, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited , a subsidiary of Warwick Energy Limited... |
2014–15 | 560 | up to 168 | Planning application submitted in December 2009 | 2 | |
| Triton Knoll Triton Knoll Triton Knoll Wind Farm is a proposed offshore wind farm 33km off the coast of Lincolnshire, in the North Sea, England. It is being developed by Npower Renewables. If completed the farm will be the largest offshore farm in the world, consisting of 240 turbines with a nameplate capacity of... |
2021 | 1,200 | 240 | Planning stage, pending EIA Environmental impact assessment An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects.... . Planning application expected December 2011 |
2 | |
| Atlantic Array Atlantic Array Atlantic Array is a proposed offshore wind farm development by RWE npower, planned for the Bristol Channel, off the coast of North Devon and South Wales... |
2021 | 1,500 | 250 | Scoping report submitted. Planning application expected Q2 2012, 1st generation 2015 | 3 |
Onshore wind farms
Delabole
Delabole is a large village in north Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately two miles west of Camelford.The village of Delabole came into existence in the 20th century; it is named after the Delabole Quarry. There were three hamlets: Pengelly, Medrose and Rockhead...
in Cornwall, it consisted of 10 turbines each with a capacity to generate a maximum of 400 kW. Following this, the early 1990s saw a small but steady growth with half a dozen farms becoming operational each year, the larger wind farms tended to be built on the hills of Wales, examples being Rhyd-y-Groes, Llandinam, Bryn Titli and Carno
Carno wind farm
Carno Wind Farm started operation in October 1996. It covers an area of over 600 hectares on Trannon Moor, a plateau to the west of the village of Carno in Powys, Mid Wales, above sea level.Carno currently has the largest production capacity in Wales....
. Smaller farms were also appearing on the hills and moors of Northern Ireland and England. The end of 1995 saw the first commercial wind farm in Scotland go into operation at Hagshaw Hill. The late 1990s saw sustained growth as the industry matured. In 2000 the first turbines capable of generating more than 1MW were installed and the pace of growth started to accelerate as the larger power companies like Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern became increasingly involved in order to meet legal reguirements to generate a certain amount of electricity using renewable means (see Renewables Obligations below). Wind turbine development continued rapidly and by the mid 2000s 2MW+ turbines were the norm. Growth continued with bigger farms and larger, more efficient turbines sitting on taller and taller masts. Scotland's sparsely populated, hilly and windy countryside became a popular area for developers and the UKs first 100MW+ farm went operational in 2006 at Hadyard Hill
Hadyard Hill Wind Farm
Hadyard Hill Wind Farm is located in Carrick district of South Ayrshire. Costing £85 million, the wind farm consists of 52 three-bladed Danish wind turbines, each capable of generating 2.3 megawatts of power, giving a total output of 120 MW...
in South Ayrshire. 2006 also saw the first use of the 3MW turbine. In 2008 the largest onshore wind farm in England was completed on Scout Moor and the repowering of the Slieve Rushen wind farm created the largest farm in Northern Ireland. In 2009 the largest wind farm in the UK went live at Whitelee
Whitelee Wind Farm
Whitelee Wind Farm is the largest wind farm in Europe, with 140 Siemens wind turbines and a total capacity of 322 megawatts . Whitelee was developed and is operated by ScottishPower Renewables, which is part of the Spanish company Iberdrola. Whitelee Wind Farm has a 75 turbine extension under...
on Eaglesham Moor in Scotland. This is a 322MW wind farm consisting of 140 turbines. Approval has been granted to build several more 100MW+ wind farms on hills in Scotland and will feature 3.6MW turbines.
As of October 2011 there were 296 operational onshore wind farms in the UK with a total of 4242 MW of nameplate capacity. A further 1427 MW of capacity is being constructed, while another 3.6 GW of schemes have planning consent and 7.3 GW are in the planning stage.
In 2009 UK onshore wind farms generated 7,564 GW·h of electricity, this represents a 2% contribution to the total UK electricity generation (378.5 TW·h).
Large onshore wind farms are usually directly connected to the National Grid, but smaller wind farms are connected to a regional distribution network, termed "embedded generation". In 2009 nearly half of wind generation capacity was embedded generation, but this is expected to reduce in future years as larger wind farms are built.
Gaining planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
for onshore wind farms continues to prove difficult, with many schemes stalled in the planning system, and a high rate of refusal. The RenewableUK (formerly BWEA) figures show that there are approximately 7,000 MW worth of onshore schemes waiting for planning permission. On average a wind farm planning application takes 2 years to be considered by a local authority, with an approval rate of 40%. This compares extremely unfavourably with other types of major applications, such as housing, retail outlets and roads, 70% of which are decided within the 13-16 week statutory deadline; for wind farms the rate is just 6%.
Approximately half of all wind farm planning applications, over 4 GW worth of schemes, have objections from airports and traffic control on account of their impact on radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. In 2008 NATS en Route, the BWEA, the Ministry of Defence and other Government departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding seeking to establish a mechanism for resolving objections and funding for more technical research.
List of the largest operational and proposed onshore wind farms
| Wind farm Wind farm A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other... | County County A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain... | Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously... | Turbine Wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or... model | Power Electric power Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations... (MW) each turbine | No. Turbines | Total capacity (MW) | Completed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Rig Crystal Rig Wind Farm Crystal Rig Wind Farm is an operational onshore wind farm located on the Lammermuir Hills in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. When it was completed in May 2004 it was the largest wind farm in Scotland... |
Scottish Borders Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland... |
Scotland | Nordex N80/ Siemens SWT-2.3 | 2.5/2.3 | 25/60 | 200.5 | May 2004 | Extended May 2007 (1a) & September 2010 (2 & 2a) |
| Cefn Croes | Ceredigion Ceredigion Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later... |
Wales | GE 1.5 se | 1.5 | 39 | 58.5 | June 2005 | Largest onshore wind farm in Wales |
| Black Law Black Law Wind Farm The 42-turbine Black Law Wind Farm has a total capacity of 97 megawatts , sufficient to meet the average electricity needs of 70,000 homes each year - or a town the size of Paisley - and is estimated to save around 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.The £90 million wind farm is... |
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages.... |
Scotland | Siemens SWT-2.3 | 2.3 | 54 | 124 | September 2005 | Extended September 2006 (Phase 2) |
| Hadyard Hill Hadyard Hill Wind Farm Hadyard Hill Wind Farm is located in Carrick district of South Ayrshire. Costing £85 million, the wind farm consists of 52 three-bladed Danish wind turbines, each capable of generating 2.3 megawatts of power, giving a total output of 120 MW... |
South Ayrshire South Ayrshire South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.... |
Scotland | Bonus B2300 | 2.5 | 52 | 120 | March 2006 | |
| Farr Farr Wind Farm Farr Wind Farm is located some 10 miles south of Inverness in Scotland, to the south-east of the Farr area, and to the west of off the A9 road. It comprises 40 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 92 megawatts... |
Highland Highland (council area) Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and... |
Scotland | Bonus B2300 | 2.3 | 40 | 92 | May 2006 | |
| Slieve Rushen Slieve Rushen Wind Farm Slieve Rushen Wind Farm is an 18 turbine wind farm in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland with a total capacity of 54 MW, enough to power over 30,000 homes. It was commissioned in April 2008.... |
Co Fermanagh | Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
Vestas V90 | 3 | 18 | 54 | April 2008 | Largest onshore farm in Northern Ireland |
| Scout Moor Scout Moor Wind Farm Scout Moor Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in England. The wind farm, which was built for Peel Wind Power Ltd, produces electricity from 26 Nordex N80 wind turbines. It has a total nameplate capacity of 65 MW of electricity, providing 154,000 MW·h per year; enough to serve... |
Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston... |
England | Nordex N80 | 2.5 | 26 | 65 | September 2008 | Largest onshore farm in England |
| Whitelee Whitelee Wind Farm Whitelee Wind Farm is the largest wind farm in Europe, with 140 Siemens wind turbines and a total capacity of 322 megawatts . Whitelee was developed and is operated by ScottishPower Renewables, which is part of the Spanish company Iberdrola. Whitelee Wind Farm has a 75 turbine extension under... |
East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde... |
Scotland | Siemens SWT-2.3 | 2.3 | 140 | 322 | November 2008 | Largest operational wind farm in the UK |
| Arecleoch Arecleoch Wind Farm Arecleoch Wind Farm is a 60 turbine wind farm in South Ayrshire, Scotland with a total capacity of 120 megawatts , enough to power over 67,000 homes. Construction started in 2009 and it was commisioned in June 2011.... |
South Ayrshire South Ayrshire South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.... |
Scotland | Gamesa G87 | 2 | 60 | 120 | June 2011 | Construction began Oct 2008, completed on June 2011 |
| Whitelee extension Whitelee Wind Farm Whitelee Wind Farm is the largest wind farm in Europe, with 140 Siemens wind turbines and a total capacity of 322 megawatts . Whitelee was developed and is operated by ScottishPower Renewables, which is part of the Spanish company Iberdrola. Whitelee Wind Farm has a 75 turbine extension under... |
East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde... |
Scotland | Alstom ECO 100/ECO 74 | 3/1.6 | 69/6 | 217 | Under construction, electricity generation expected 2012 | |
| Clyde Clyde Wind Farm The Clyde Wind Farm is a 548 megawatt wind farm under construction near Abington in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. When completed, it will be Europe's largest onshore wind farm... |
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages.... |
Scotland | Siemens SWT-2.3 | 2.3 | 152 | 350 | Construction began Jan 2010, completion expected 2012 | |
| Griffin | Perth & Kinross | Scotland | Siemens SWT-2.3 | 2.3 | 68 | 156.4 | Construction began Aug 2010, turbines delivered March 2011 | |
| Fallago Rig | Scottish Borders | Scotland | Vestas V90 | 3 | 48 | 144 | Construction began March 2011 | |
| Harestanes | Dumfries & Galloway | Scotland | 3 | 71 | 213 | Consent granted September 2007. Construction to start in 2012 | ||
| Muaitheabhal | Western Isles | Scotland | 3.6 | 33 | 118 | Consent granted January 2010 | ||
| Strathy Sound | Highland Highland (council area) Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and... |
Scotland | 2.3 | 77 | 177 | Planning application submitted June 2007 | ||
| Dorenell | Moray Moray Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :... |
Scotland | 3 | 59 | 177 | Planning application submitted May 2008 | ||
| Earlshaugh | Scottish Borders | Scotland | 3 | 36 | 108 | Planning application submitted June 2008 | ||
| Carnedd Wen | Powys Powys Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is... |
Wales | 2.5 | 65 | 195 | Planning application submitted Jan 2009 | ||
| Viking Wind Project | Shetland Islands Shetland Islands Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total... |
Scotland | 3.6 | 127 | 457.2 | Planning application submitted May 2009 | ||
| Pen y Cymoedd | Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough.... & Rhondda Cynon Taf |
Wales | 3 | 79 | 237 | Planning application submitted Nov 2009 | ||
| Kilgallioch (Arecleoch Phase 2) | Dumfries & Galloway | Scotland | 3 | 132 | 396 | Planning application submitted March 2010 |
Economics
Through the Renewables ObligationRenewables Obligation
The Renewables Obligation is designed to encourage generation of electricity from eligible renewable sources in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in England and Wales and in a different form in Scotland in April 2002 and in Northern Ireland in April 2005, replacing the Non-Fossil Fuel...
, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MWh of electricity they have purchased. The Energy Act 2008 introduced banded ROCs for different technologies from April 2009. Onshore wind receives 1 ROC per MWh, however following the Renewables Obligation Banding Review in 2009 offshore wind now receives 2 ROCs to reflect its higher costs of generation. Wind energy receives approximately 40% of the total revenue generated by the RO. The ROCs are the principal form of support for UK wind power, providing over half of the revenue from wind generation.
Small wind systems under 50 kW previously received 2 ROCs, but are now eligible for support under the Feed In Tariff.
Variability and related issues
| Season | Daytime | Overnight | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 44% | 36% | 38% |
| Summer | 31% | 13% | 20% |
Wind-generated power is a variable resource, and the amount of electricity produced at any given point in time by a given plant will depend on wind speeds, air density, and turbine characteristics (among other factors). If wind speed is too low (less than about 2.5 m/s) then the wind turbines will not be able to make electricity, and if it is too high (more than about 25 m/s) the turbines will have to be shut down to avoid damage. If this happens during a winter cold snap
Winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom
The winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom was a meteorological event that started on 16 December 2009, as part of the severe winter weather in Europe. January 2010 was provisionally the coldest January since 1987 across the country...
, when winds are calm over large regions and electrical demand reaches its highest levels of the year, other power sources must have the capacity of meeting that entire demand.
Three reports on the wind variability in the UK issued in 2009, generally agree that variability of the wind does not make the grid unmanageable; and the additional costs, which are modest, can be quantified. In the UK, demand for electricity is higher in winter than in summer, and so are wind speeds.
While the output from a single turbine can vary greatly and rapidly as local wind speeds vary, as more turbines are connected over larger and larger areas the average power output becomes less variable. In practice, the variations in thousands of wind turbines, spread out over several different sites and wind regimes, are smoothed, rather than intermittent. As the distance between sites increases, the correlation between wind speeds measured at those sites, decreases. This has been confirmed recently by studies conducted by Graham Sinden from Oxford University:
[Graham Sinden] analysed over 30 years of hourly wind speed data from 66 sites spread out over the United Kingdom. He found that the correlation coefficient of wind power fell from 0.6 at 200 km to 0.25 at 600 km separation (a perfect correlation would have a coefficient equal to 1.0.) There were no hours in the data set where wind speed was below the cut-in wind speed of a modern wind turbine throughout the United Kingdom, and low wind speed events affecting more than 90 per cent of the United Kingdom had an average recurrent rate of only one hour per year.
A 2011 report authored by wind farm critic Stuart Young and supported by the John Muir Trust
John Muir Trust
The John Muir Trust is a Scottish charity established as a membership organisation in 1983 to conserve wild land and wild places for the benefit of all...
, said that Scotland’s wind farms are only delivering a fraction of the power their builders claim. The report looked at wind farm output over a 26 month period between November 2008 to December 2010 using data from the industry’s Balancing Mechanism Reporting System. The report concluded that wind power "cannot be relied upon to provide significant levels of power" and "that there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the use of the energy source in future". There was an "angry response" to the report from the energy industry, and the body representing Scotland’s renewable energy refused to recognise the figures. Jenny Hogan, Director of Policy for Scottish Renewables, said: "We have no confidence in these unofficial figures", and added: "It could be argued the Trust is acting irresponsibly given their expertise lies in protecting our wild lands and yet they seem to be going to great lengths to undermine renewable energy which is widely recognised as one of the biggest solutions to tackling climate change". An independent study investigated the JMT report by cross-referencing Renewable Obligation Certificates over the same study period and concluded that wind farms performed much better due to data problems with the BMReports website upon which the JMT Report was based.
A Scottish government spokesman has said electricity generated by renewables accounted for 27% of Scotland's electricity use. On the evening of the 5th into the 6th of April, 2011, the wind in Scotland was high, it was raining heavily, which also created more hydroelectricity than normal. The grid became overloaded and a transmission fault in the system "meant the surplus energy could not be transferred to England and so generation had to be cut". Wind farms operators "were paid £900,000 by the National Grid to disconnect their turbines for one night because the electricity was not needed". A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), described this situation as "unusual" and said more electrical storage was needed, adding: "In future we need greater electrical energy storage facilities and greater interconnection with our EU neighbours so that excess energy supplies can be sold or bought where required."
There is some dispute over the necessary amount of reserve or backup required to support the large-scale use of wind energy due to the variable nature of its supply. In a 2008 submission to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
Economic Affairs Committee, E.ON UK
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
argued that it is necessary to have up to 80–90% backup. National Grid which has responsibility for balancing the grid reported in June 2009 that the electricity distribution grid could cope with on-off wind energy without spending a lot on backup, but only by rationing electricity at peak times using a so-called "smart grid", developing increased energy storage technology and increasing interconnection with the rest of Europe. In June 2011 several energy companies including Centrica
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
told the government that 17 gas-fired plants costing £10 billion would be needed by 2020 to act as back-up generation for wind. However as they would be standing idle for much of the time they would require "capacity payments" to make the investment economic, on top of the subsidies already paid for wind.
See also
Related Lists- Lists of offshore wind farms by country
- Lists of offshore wind farms by water area
- Lists of wind farms by country
- List of power stations in Scotland#Wind power
- List of wind turbine manufacturers
Related UK pages
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- Wind power in ScotlandWind power in ScotlandWind power in Scotland is the country's fastest growing renewable energy technology, with 2574 MW of installed capacity as of April 2011. The Robin Rigg Wind Farm is a 180 MW development completed in April 2010, which is Scotland's first offshore wind farm, sited on a sandbank in the Solway...
- Wind turbines (UK domestic)Wind turbines (UK domestic)Small wind turbines intended for installation on an individual home have been on the market in the United Kingdom for many years, but their popularity and public awareness is now increasing substantially....
Developers of UK wind
- VattenfallVattenfallVattenfall is a Swedish power company. The name Vattenfall is Swedish for waterfall, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board...
- Baywind Energy Co-operativeBaywind Energy Co-operativeBaywind Energy Co-operative was the first co-operative to own wind turbines in the United Kingdom.Baywind was modelled on the similar wind turbine cooperatives and other renewable energy co-operatives that are common in Scandinavia, and was founded as an Industrial and Provident Society in 1996. It...
- Centrica
- DONG Energy
- EcotricityEcotricityEcotricity is a green energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England specialising in selling and generating wind power. It is built on the principle of heavily reinvesting its profit in building more of its own windfarms.-History:...
- EDF
- Good EnergyGood EnergyGood Energy is a renewable energy company in the United Kingdom. It supplies 100% renewable electricity to homes and businesses throughout the UK.-History:...
- npower UKNpower (UK)RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
- Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative
- REG WindPower
Other related
- Environmental impact of wind power
- Friends of the EarthFriends of the EarthFriends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
- Relative cost of electricity generated by different sources
- Renewable Electricity and the GridRenewable Electricity and the GridRenewable Electricity and the Grid: The Challenge of Variability is a 2007 book edited by Godfrey Boyle which examines the significance of the issue of variability of renewable energy supplies in the electricity grid.-Themes:...
- Renewable energy in the European UnionRenewable energy in the European UnionThe countries of the European Union are currently the number two global leaders in the development and application of renewable energy. Promoting the use of renewable energy sources is important both to the reduction of the EU's dependence on foreign energy imports, and in meeting targets to combat...
- United Kingdom National Renewable Energy Action PlanUnited Kingdom National Renewable Energy Action PlanAll Member States of the European Union made National Renewable Energy Action Plans in 2010. NREAPs include detailed description of how each Member State expects to reach its legally binding 2020 target for the share of renewable energy in their final energy consumption that is required by Article...
External links
- 4C Offshore's Wind Farm Map and Database containing all UK offshore wind farms.
- COWRIE Collaborative offshore wind research into the environment
- UK wind farm performance 2002-2009
- The Renewable Energy Centre Wind Power in the UK.
- yes 2 wind UK wind farm supporters organisation
- Windfarm Action Group UK wind farm critics organisation
- A Sea Change: The Wind Farm Revolution
- Grants for wind power/turbines
- The Crown Estate Invests in 25 GW of Offshore Wind Power
- UK plans big wind power expansion
- UK Group Plans to Cut the Costs of Offshore Wind
- LORC Offshore Renewables Map for UK