Scroby Sands, Norfolk Windfarm

How does the operation of Wind Farm Scroby Sands In Great Yarmouth contribute to the UK government targets for cutting carbon emissions and increasing renewable energy sources? And what potential improvements could be made with the current technology there?

Carbon emissions are no doubt changing the world we live in, fossil fuel supplies are dwindling and the world is heating up. Measures have to be looked at to curb this recent global trend and use technology to harness renewable energy sources in a way that can meet the demand of the planet. In the following decade we could see renewable resources becoming a large part of our energy production. A catastrophe that would affect the world over not only devastate the shores of the British Isles has been predicted if the way we produce and use energy is not changed dramatically over the next few years. This will personally affect the future of me my family and my friends, so looking into renewable energy sources and improving them is something i feel strongly about. So what are we doing to meet this relatively new demand? One of many different directions for renewable sources is that of wind power, and in particular in this article the contribution of Scroby sands to the UK governments targets. Also, will the advances in the technology of wind farm creation be taken and used to improve old sites or will sites like Scroby sands be left obsolete in the coming years?

Offshore wind farms
Providing there is careful wind farm placement and implementation before the deadline of 2050, the target of 60% renewable sources, on paper seems achievable. Although there are milestone targets set by the British government to monitor progress. By 2010 they wish to have 10% of Britain’s electricity coming from purely renewable sources, and by 2020 they are aspiring to 20%.
Implementation of wind farms at sites such as Scroby Sands just off the Great Yarmouth coast in Norfolk is not without its reasoning. Britain is placed well geographically to meet renewable energy source demands and cut carbon dioxide emissions. The 30 2MW vesta turbines of Scroby Sands “provides enough energy for 41,000 homes and saves 75,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere” (http://www.edp24.co.uk/Windfarms/asp/where/Yarmouth_C2iic.asp) . At present the annual carbon dioxide emissions are 160million tonnes per annum and the target is to have just 130million tonnes produced in the year 2010.

Offshore farms like Scroby Sands around the UK are interesting in the sense of their development. Although the energy from them is more expensive due to more materials and labour to produce them. The Potential development and re-development of offshore projects such as Scroby Sands appears to be much greater than that of the onshore sites. This is Due to more reliable wind sources and space available. Also, offshore sites seem to produce less of a local uproar than that of the onshore.

offshorewindchart

Figure 2 copyright
(http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications/downloads/Wind_Energy-NovRev2005.PDF)

The current practical offshore energy that could be produced has been currently estimated at a substantial 100,000GWh (sustainable development commission). But I believe this figure will increase dramatically with technological breakthroughs.
The potential for technological development of the offshore sites such as Scroby Sands is mainly due to the increased space available, Because a turbines power output is proportional to the square of the length of the turbines blades. This means a small amount of space can be utilized to create a substantial increase in power output of the turbines. Also, chronological advances in technology have already been seen. With the increase in power of turbines since 1991 from 450KW to the 2MW vesta turbines we predominantly see today. I believe that for sustainability, sites that are approved should be looked at being able to be improved as the technology advances instead of just being outdated. Older onshore sites have already seen upgrades, so in the future i do believe that at least some offshore sites will be re-developed.
In a report published by Nic Fleming in new scientist magazine 2003 he outlines some interesting projects in the advancement of wind technology. In September 2004 a German wind turbine producing company called RePower announced they were testing the worlds largest turbine, a 180 metre 5MW turbine with 61 metre blades. This advance in technology could pose a large increase in energy production from wind in the UK and other viable sites.

But will we really harness the new advances in technology and use them to help us update older sites? . If the little space Britain has is continued to be used with no concept of ever updating them will this cause a future sustainability issue?

Plan of inquiry

My plan of inquiry to follow on to the presentation and finally the report will be to visit Scroby Sands wind farm in Norfolk. Arrange a meeting with a spokesperson from the Windfarm and ask a set list of questions about the predictions of the contributions of Scroby Sands in future years, and what numerical contributions has it made since its creation. Has it met the standards expected by one of the UK's largest windfarms? What if any technological advances are in the pipeline for this site, and if none will it really be useful in reaching the targets set for the 2050 deadline or will it be obsolete like the 450KW turbines which were originally built? I will also ask about some of the limitations with improving the technology and developing sites, what has been holding back the progress of this potentially great source of energy and what is being done to prevent these setbacks?

The websites I have used for this article and will continue using for the report are
http://www.edp24.co.uk/Windfarms/asp/where/Yarmouth_C2iic.asp
http://www.Sd-commissions.org.uk
http://www.Newscientist.com
http://www.TheGuardian.com