The Windy Country: Is Surrounding Our Island with Wind Farms the Solution?

The London Array is a project which aims to build 341 wind turbines in the Thames upper estuary twelve miles offshore, making the world’s largest offshore wind farm. It will provide 1gigawatt of electricity, powering 250 million homes. This is about the same amount of energy as a major coal or gas power station, but would cut Co2 emissions by around one 1.5 million tonnes. The aim is to complete the project by 2010/2011 and will account for around 10% of the governments renewable energy aims for 2020.

The project is currently in the early stages, starting roughly 18 months ago and has gathered momentum since. It has been received well by most, gaining government backing which was recently received in late November 2007. There were issues with the local community, mainly concerning the Cleve Hill substation. Its construction was protested by locals who have fought to preserve the surroundings since the end of WWII. This has lead to London Array Limited file a Compulsory Purchase Order which was accepted by the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and will force the land owners to comply and allow construction on the land.

The main aims of these projects are to first provide electricity for millions of homes in London by using a clean, environmentally friendly method. This will show that Britain is devoted to environmentally friendly sources of energy, and cleaning up the way we live. It may encourage people to be more environmentally conscious in their everyday lives. Also other countries who have not undertaken any such renewable energy schemes might reconsider. Several politicians have praised the development and agree that there will be more wind farm developments in the UK to come.

Being developed alongside the London Array project is a project called the Thanet Wind Farm. This smaller farm is being developed south of the London Array; at seven miles off of the north eastern coast of Kent it’s five miles closer than the London Array. This array will generate 300MW, a third that of the London Array. Together, these wind farms aim to generate 1.5 gigawatts of energy for the UK. Just 2% of energy used in Britain today comes from renewable energy sources at the moment and just 2.3 gigawatts of that is from wind power. Following these recent success stories, the government’s plans are to construct over seven thousand turbines in the UK by 2020, producing a total of 33 gigawatts. This places Britain well inside the EU’s targets of 20% of energy coming from renewable sources by 2020. By 2014 it is estimated that some eight gigawatts of energy will be generated from wind power.

This table shows the current state of wind farms across the UK, with new projects. But as the table shows, a big difference is already being made by wind power, saving millions of tonnes of CO2, SO2 and NOX. Most of these projects though are on shore wind farms, and the government’s plans for Britain nearly entirely compromise of offshore wind farms. There are a further 40 wind farms currently under construction in the UK, again mostly onshore sites, 115 consented projects and 226 still in the planning stage.

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This table shows the dramatic difference between the number of onshore wind farms, and the offshore farms currently in the UK. The plans involve using all of Britain’s continental shelf which is not essential for shipping or fishing. The aims of this are to make the country entirely self sufficient. This is going to have a dramatic effect on the coastline around the UK, as it will be covered in offshore wind farms, with some turbines reaching hundreds of feet tall. The business secretary John Hutton told the BBC “There is no way of making the shift to a low-carbon technology without there being change and for that change to be visible and evident to people.”

Eight gigawatts in six years does not seem a lot when compared to the planned targets of 2020. It would mean that in the six years following 2014 some 25 gigawatts worth of wind farms would have to be constructed. Meaning that productivity would have to triple what it was between the present day and 2014. The Royal Academy of Engineering has expressed concerns about whether the governments’ targets are realistically attainable and is subsequently carrying out an investigation into the likelihood of attaining these targets.

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Several factors which must be taken into account when assessing the potential of wind power and the London Array, one being the social impact upon the local surrounding area. On the positive side, it will create job opportunities for local building contractors and experts and having the farm there will be somewhat of a world landmark. Locals campaigned against the building of a substation on Cleve Hill, and the local council denied the planning permission. From this I would say that although people may support wind power and renewable energy sources, when it comes to doing something about it by supporting a local development, even if it may inconvenience them slightly, they are not willing to put themselves out.

Developing a large wind farm such as the London Array and the Thanet Wind Farm also holds financial benefits. The development of the London Array is backed by three companies, Shell, DONG Energy and E.ON. These companies are investing millions of pounds into British renewable energy. It is beneficial because it means that the government does not have to spend millions. The planning, design, construction, monitoring and maintenance of the Array will also create work for hundreds of people over the course of its service.

However there are a few details which have previously gone unaddressed concerning the financial aspects of the. The company funding the project, Warwick Energy, has a worrying history. Warwick Energy is the major shareholder in Warwick Offshore Wind, and is owned equally by three individuals. Warwick Energy is a relatively new company which the three individuals formed after a disastrous string of errors at a previous company they owned called Independent Energy. Independent had a series of problems mainly involving the failure of its billing systems, which left their 320,000 customers in disarray for years. The heads of the company were criticised heavily for their mistakes and the company, once valued at £1.5 billion, was sold to N-Power for £9 million. This shows a large incompetence in these individuals, and whether they are best to back this development, may be questionable.

In Colorado, US, a company called Xcel uses both renewable wind energy and non renewable energy sources such as coal and gas. However the prices of energy produced through wind power is more expensive. This is because it is often more expensive to plan, build and maintain a wind farm in the long run, than it is to do so with a fossil fuel plant. If this were to become the case in The United Kingdom, people may once again complain about having to suffer the effects of renewable energy.

Based on what I have seen with the London Array, I can predict that there are going to be a number of environmental issues raised when wind farm sites are proposed around the country. Britain has a lot of natural wildlife both on land and in the surrounding waters, meaning some environmentalists may oppose some wind farm sites. The London Array shows a perfect example of one of these situations. Cleve Hill is a stretch of land, involving some marshlands which will have large amounts of cabling, pylons and a substation built upon it. Although the site has passed environmental tests to prove it won’t disrupt too many habitats or harm any endangered species, it still won’t be exactly beneficial for the local wildlife. There are also claims that it once the island is surrounded by wind turbines, it will discourage wildlife such as whales and dolphins to frequent our shores.

From an internationally political standpoint it would look very good to be starting the construction of the world’s largest offshore wind power farm, as Britain has. Wind power has always been a popular and attractive favourite and creates a good image whilst encouraging others to join in. However there are now possibly better alternatives, so using wind power seems inefficient. Politically, it is important to approve projects such as this, to meet targets inside deadlines, and to make a difference. Nevertheless I think that if the government truly wanted to make the largest positive impact that they could, some more research into the best types of renewable energy and create a multitude of different types of sources. However, are there are alternatives which are cheaper or produce more energy? So as more and more wind farms sites being planned all across the UK, are we entirely sure that wind power is the way forward?

There are other possible alternatives of course to wind power. These include non renewable energy sources such as coal, oil and gas. These produce high quantities of harmful gases which are harmful to the environment, and not really a good alternative, seeing as the main objective is to be more environmentally friendly.

One appealing alternative would be tidal power. This involves harnessing the energy in the movement of the waves and currents in the ocean. Tidal power is harnessed via large turbines underwater which are pushed around by the tides of the water, like underground wind turbines. One possible disadvantage might be once again damage to marine life, but I have found that the turbines spin a lot slower underwater and will not injure many animals in contact. There are many advantages though, such as the fact that unlike the wind, tides are predictable, meaning we get optimum use from the turbines and will never find ourselves with a lack of a tide. Water has a greater density than wind, meaning that fewer turbines are needed to produce the same amount of electricity. Subsequently this means that less money will have to be invested. They are attached to the ocean floor and are so entirely underwater, meaning they are far more aesthetically pleasing.

Another possible alternative would be nuclear power. Nuclear power uses nuclear fission to boil water, meaning that the end result is extremely toxic, hazardous nuclear waste. This waste needs to be buried underground for many years before it can be treated. This raises issues with possibly terrorism, accidents, transport problems etc. Especially in the UK would a large nuclear power plant be a terrorist target itself, as a relatively small accident could result in worldwide effects, as seen with previous cases in Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. I would say nuclear energy is not as good as the current plans to introduce the wind farms because of the possible hazards it presents.

Solar power is an attractive alternative. It’s clean and doesn’t looks out of place. Solar panels can harness enough power to easily supply a house, excess power can be sold back to the power company, no animals of wildlife can come to harm from solar panels being present. There are no waste products, and the only required input, is sunlight, which is somewhat plentiful for the next few million years. So why then is solar power not being implemented in every home in the country? The answer is simply the cost. The expense of a single solar panel is incredibly high, usually near £1000, and a many would be necessary. I think that solar power is one of the best energy sources and that the government should be putting more money into solar energy, working to push the technology and lower the prices so that people can afford the panels.

If Britain manages to successfully implement a wind farm system which can power half to the whole of Britain, then this will have a positive global impact. Some countries may realise that things like this are achievable and that they should try it in their own. Some countries may not want to be left behind and feel that they need to upgrade to renewable energy sources such as wind power. I think that this would be another advantageous reason to develop wind power further, because making ourselves environmentally friendly and self sufficient does of course help the whole worlds situation, but by inspiring and showing others what they can achieve, we may make a larger difference than we realise.

• The London Array (n.d.). About The London Array Retrieved December 12, 2007, from http://www.londonarray.com/about/
• BBC News 24 Monday, (10 December 2007). Wind “could power all UK homes” Retrieved December 12, 2007, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7135930.stm
• BWEA (n.d.) UKWED Retrieved December 20, 2007, from http://www.bwea.com/ukwed/index.asp
• MSNBC (2006). Tidal power may provide cheaper energy source Retrieved December 20, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13561656/
• Louise Radnofsky and agencies – The Guardian (10 December 2007). Wind energy to power UK by 2020, government says Retrieved December 20 2007, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/dec/10/politics
• The London Array (September 2007) London Array Newsletter Retrieved January 8 2007, from http://www.londonarray.com/wp-content/uploads/sep07newsletter.pdf
• Greenpeace UK (n.d.) Renewable Energy Retrieved January 8 2007, from http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/climate/solutions/renewable-energy