Renew On Line (UK) 31

Extracts from the May-June 2001 edition of Renew
These extracts only represent about 25% of it

Wind Gets Bigger

Wind power continues to romp ahead around the world- with 50,000 machines now installed and some big projects emerging. For example, American Electric Power and TXU Electric and Gas have a 130 megawatt 87 turbine windpower project in West Texas, which you can watch being built at www.trentmesa.com

But, if we’re talking big, Germany now has 5.5GW of wind plant installed- over twice the US total. Looking ahead, the Financial Times (23 Jan) ran a report on ‘Power generation in the 21st century’, which says that wind power will triple in next 5 years, especially in the USA, while Greenpeace have published a detailed 83 page report by German wind consultants DEWI on the prospects for offshore wind from the North Sea, (‘North Sea Offshore Wind: a power house for Europe’), looking at economic and environmental implications: see our Reviews section. We’ll be reviewing it fully in Renew 132. Meanwhile, there’s a fold out brochure on the new report available from Greenpeace. It claims that if just 1% p.a. of the offshore wind resource of the five nations bordering the North Sea were developed, then they could save more than 10% of their current carbon emissions by 2012- the end of the current Kyoto commitment period.

UK On Land Wind Keeps Going

It may still be hard to find acceptable sites in some parts of the UK, but on land wind is prospering in the Republic of Ireland. Its first wind farm built without subsidy opened recently near Ballybofey in Donegal. With 12MW of capacity, it was financed exclusively on the basis of consumer demand.

Scottish Power has also been able to develop windfarms without subsidy - the economics of wind seem to be improving. That, coupled with the advent of more efficient machines, could relieve some of the planning pressures- since they can be sited in less windy locations.