6. Britannia to rule wind 

Clipper to develop 7.5MW superturbine in UK 

California-based wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Windpower has announced that it will develop and test a new 7.5 MW offshore unit at a new Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind in Blyth, in Northumberland. Clipper will use the test facilities of the Blyth New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC)  for the development project- known as “Britannia”.

The 7.5 MW unit will be the largest of its kind in the world and will be based on Clipper’s proven Liberty 2.5 MW turbine. NaREC will support the project with an engineering package, which includes the use of its world-class wind turbine blade testing facilities. Engineering for the project will be shared between Clipper’s Advanced Technology Group, based in Carpinteria, California, and Clipper operations in Blyth. Funding is being provided by the UK’s One Northeast Regional Development Agency. www.clipperwind.com/pr_100807.html

DBERR has granted consent for EDF Energy’s Teeside Offshore wind farm, with 30 turbines, to be located off the coast between the mouth of the River Tees and Redcar, and also for DONG energys 93-152 turbine array 14km from Walney Island, off the coast of Cumbria- which could be running by 2013. npower renewable’s plan for a wind farm at Bradwell-On-Sea have also been approved by the Governments Planning Inspector. 

The giant Shell/E.ON 1GW London Array with up to 341 turbines, has also got the go ahead from DBERR, though cost estimates have risen from £1.5bn to nearly £2bn. It could be working by 2010. As well as the five offshore wind farms currently in operation, another 10 have won approval and 8 are at the planning stage. Taken together that’s around 20GW total- which could supply17% of the UK’s electricity. Well on the way to the newly announced target of 33GW- roughly 25%- for 2020. More on that in Renew 172. 

BT Greens itself with wind. 

British Telecommunications plc is to spend £250m building wind farms around the country in the UK’s biggest single renewable investment outside of the energy sector. BT, one of Britain’s largest electricity users, should be able to provide 25% of its needs from its own turbines and should be sourcing more than half its total power from non-fossil fuels by 2016. BT serves 15m UK customers, and claims to have already cut its CO2 emissions by 60% and hopes to have achieved an 80% reduction within the next nine years, despite extra power needed for broadband customers. BT gets 44% of its electricity from renewable sources via contracts with British Gas and npower and said increasing shortages meant there were advantages in doing it yourself. It’s applied for planning permission for test masts at Goonhilly satellite earth station in Cornwall, Wideford Hill radio station in Orkney and Scousburgh radio station in Shetland. Other sites are also being lined up so that BT can put up 125 turbines, each rated at 2MW.   Source: Guardian 

MK OK  The 7 turbine Milton Keynes windfarm has got the go ahead from MK Council.

Devon Wind Power  has got the go-ahead for their 66MW 22 turbine Fullabrook Down wind project in north Devon, following a four-week public inquiry. It’s the first major scheme in Devon, which has so far resisted wind project.