Extracts from NATTA's journal
Renew, issue 144 July- Aug 2003

1. Rewire the UK for Renewables

Fleets of wind turbines located miles off the coastline will make a crucial contribution to the UK’s energy future, Energy Minister Brian Wilson told the British Wind Energy Association’s Offshore Wind 2003 conference in March. And he announced new allocations, of a total of £42m, under the second round of the capital grants scheme, for three new offshore wind projects (see Renew 143). However, he said there was no room for complacency. ‘We need a much bigger contribution from renewable energy, and there is ample evidence that the biggest new contributor to our renewables target is going to be offshore wind."

But he warned there were still ‘major obstacles’ to be addressed- one of the most significant being transmission: Britain needed to be ‘re-wired’ to adapt to the age of renewables. ‘There is no point in generating power unless we can ensure that it is capable of being carried to the markets which require it.’

This statement evidently wasn’t sufficient for (aptly named) Vince Cable MP, Lib Democrat Shadow DTI Secretary, who later commented "Grants to specific wind projects are welcome, but the failure to fund the upgrading of the electricity grid to support renewable energy sources is a real sting in the tail. If renewable energy is to be economically viable, investment to upgrade the electricity grid is imperative. This is yet another example of the Government's failure to commit wholeheartedly to a sustainable energy policy, despite all the fine words in the Energy White Paper."

Actually Wilson did seem to be well aware of this issue. At a Conference on renewables on the Isle of Lewis (see later), he repeated his message: "I cannot emphasise strongly enough the point that there is no point in generating power- indeed, there is no prospect of that happening- unless we can ensure as part of the same package that it is capable of being carried to the markets which require it. Infrastructure is all. We must rewire Britain to adapt to the age of renewables and of distributed generation. This is key to ensuring our White Paper ambitions are fulfilled. I intend to ensure that we do not fail them.’

Following the Cabinet reshuffle in June, Wilson was replaced as Energy Minister by Stephen Timms, who worked on the Climate Change Levy while at the Treasury. Let’s hope he’ll press on with the rewiring programme- despite its cost: which a new study has put at £800m minimum.

UK Wind up

In the first 3 months of 2003, 567MW of wind capacity received planning permission, 242MW in Scotland. That compares to 600MW in 2002 and 560 MW in the previous ten years.

Tourists don’t mind windpower

A study carried out last August in the Burnham on Sea area in Somerset by the Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol found that, based on a sample of 331, over 90% of visitors to the nearby Animal Adventure farm did not object to the wind project proposed nearby- it would make no difference to whether they returned. Only 3.6% said they might visit less often, while 3.9% said they might visit more often.