Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

Middle England Groups and Wind Energy Companies Disagree over Spatial Planning

Wind energy companies don’t like spatial planning. They have been warning UK government decision makers against the strategic allocation of renewable energy sites for years. The key reasons for this stance are a) the risk of completely unsuitable areas being allocated for a particular renewable energy technology and b) a whole host of potentially suitable areas being sterilised uneccessarily because they have not been allocated as appropriate for a particular renewable energy technology. Renewable energy technology requirements change fast according to technological and commercial parameters.

Sterilising effects have been experienced in practice where local planning authorities have commissioned studies of their own areas and then gone on to identify green ‘go’ and red ‘no go’ areas. The sterilisation of these areas will in turn have a further impact on already failing moves towards meeting renewable energy targets.

Some national organisations are however pushing for strategic identification of renewable energy sites such as those for wind farms. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) produced a joint statement with the National Trust last year promoting the spatial planning approach. They are still peddling this approach with RSPB representatives telling the Energy and Climate Change Committee earlier this month that the government’s new national policy statements (NPS) should include spatial guidelines for renewable energy development.

Welsh Hopes for Wind Turbine Manufacturing Jobs

Engineering firm Mabey Bridge wants to invest £38 million in a Welsh wind turbine factory according to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) this week. The investment could create 240 new green collar jobs in Chepstow on the England/ Wales border.

The Chepstow wind turbine factory would build and paint new wind turbine towers but only if the demand for wind turbines in Wales increases. Planning consent and grid infrastructure are the two key wind energy constraints currently holding the country back from meeting its green energy targets. Onshore wind delivery currently stands at only 17% of 2010 targets.

Head of the Welsh division of BWEA, Llwelwyn Rhys said: “This is exactly what the renewable energy industry and the Welsh Assembly Government have been hoping for – our own manufacturing plant that supplies the materials needed to drive the green energy revolution. This is wholly in line with the Welsh Government’s intention of creating a low carbon economy and generating green jobs”.

US Announces $20.5 million for Community Renewable Energy Projects

The US Department of Environment Secretary – Steven Chu has announced the release of $20.5m (£12.6m) for new community renewable energy projects.

The funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is being ploughed into five differerent biomass, wind and solar projects. The DOE hopes the funding will promote investment in clean energy, promote widespread energy installations and create jobs. The five trial projects are expected to serve as models for other local governments and campuses, encouraging communities to design projects that fit their individual size and energy needs.

“Smaller, more localized renewable energy systems need to play a role in our comprehenseve energy portfolio” said Chu. “These projects will help create jobs, expand our clean energy economy and help us cut carbon pollution at the local level”.

Green Light for Controversial Essex Wind Farm

Planning consent was granted today for an Essex Wind farm in the east of England after two public inquiries and a high court challenge.

The 10 turbine wind farm planned near the village of Bradwell in Essex, is close to the site of a 1960’s Magnox nuclear power station. The wind farm consent follows a decision to quash the proposal in 2008 due to a typo in the original planning consent. This typo would have potentially lead to unenforceable planning conditions relating to the noise output of the wind farm.

In re-granting consent for the wind turbines, Planning Inspector Mr Mellor said: “The Bradwell wind farm would contribute to the large number of wind turbines likely to be needed to meet renewable energy targets. It is immaterial that a new nuclear power station is likely to be developed nearby or that the wind farm would generate much less energy than that power station.”

Mellor claimed that both the wind farm and the nuclear power station would contribute to non-carbon energy production and that both are likely to be needed to meet national targets for energy production and to replace lost energy production capacity elsewhere.

EDF Drops Olympic Wind Turbine Bid

French owned electricity supply and generation company EDF decided not to bid for the London Olympic wind turbine project according to the London Evening Standard yesterday.

The nuclear giant EDF say that there is not enough wind to justify building the £2 million ($3.2m) turbine at the site close to London’s Hackney Marshes. Instead they have suggested installing one on the south coast at Weymouth – close to the Olympic sailing venue.

The Olympic Delivery Authority have however accepted a proposal from electricity supply rival company Ecotricity who says that there is enough wind for the wind turbine to be viable. Ecotricity openly criticised EDF last year for ’stealing’ its green union jack logo and using it to make them appear green, renewable and British.

Offshore Wind Energy Vital for Europe’s Future

The European Wind Energy Association has claimed that offshore wind power is vital for Europe’s future in a new report published this month.

The report “The European Offshore Wind Industry – key trends and statistics” confirms that a total of eight new wind farms comprising 199 offshore wind turbines were connected to the grid in 2009. With a combined power generating capacity of 577 megawatts (MW) this represents a growth rate of 54% compared to the 373 MW installed during 2008.

During 2010, the EWEA anticipates the construction of 10 further European offshore wind farms, adding 1,000 MW and equivalent to market growth of 75% compared to 2009.

According to EWEA more than 100 GW of offshore wind farms are currently being planned by project developers and utilities.

Average water depths for offshore wind farms installed during 2009 was 12 metres compared with 21.8 metres for offshore wind farms currently under construction and up to 80 metres for the latest round of offshore areas announced by the UK last week.

Using Social Media for Wind Energy Projects

People and companies are realising the potential opportunities offered by social networking sites when promoting or consulting on new projects according to PlanningBlog.

Mark Wilding asked planners what they thought of using social media as a tool for planning application consultation and although a note of caution was urged with regard to the ability of these tools to contain detail, most respondents agreed there is great potential to engage people who do not usually get involved with planning issues. That is, if IT managers would lift restrictions on the use of social network sites (particularly common within local authorities and large companies).

Two examples of social network sites currently dedicated to wind energy are the facebook sites “Yes to Wind Turbines at Spaldington & Holme on Spalding Moor” and “I want a wind farm in my back yard because I’m not an idiot”.

The former is an example of a dedicated project support group set up by the neighbour of two proposed wind farms near Spaldington – the membership is now up to 144. There are links to the project websites and information about who members can e-mail and write to in order to express their views. The latter sprung up further to the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight and now has over 36,500 members. This membership reflects numerous public opinion surveys which time after time demonstrate that although not shouting the loudest, the majority of people support wind energy.

Grid Approvals Needed Immediately for 3rd Round of Offshore Wind Farms

Grid upgrades need to be approved immediately if the wind energy industry is to avoid delays in the build-out of new offshore wind farms according to the British Wind Energy Association.

The announcement of the 3rd round of UK offshore wind farms made by the Crown Estate on Friday could lead to a quarter of the UK’s electricity coming from offshore wind energy. However the 32 Gigawatts of potential capacity will only be built if it can be connected to new UK grid infrastructure.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband said on Friday “we know that there is still a huge amount of work to do but today marks a very important first step”.

Crown Estate CEO Roger Bright said that the round 3 programme has cross party support – and that this will help in terms of investor confidence. It will however be interesting to see if the Conservative position on offshore wind energy changes if government money is required to contribute towards the new grid infrastructure or if electricity bills need to go up substantially to pay for the works.

3rd Round of UK Offshore Wind Farms Announced

The Crown Estate has today announced the 3rd round of UK offshore wind farms. It comes as no surprise that the big winners are giant consortiums made up of globally operating utilities and companies with offshore experience. The winners will be taking on unprecedented challenges with sites up to 195km offshore and water depths of up to 80 metres.

The largest zones at Doggerbank (9000 Megawatts) and Norfolk (7200 MW) go to consortia giants Forewind and East Anglia Offshore Wind. Forewind is made up of RWE renewables, Scottish and Southern Energy, Statoil and Statkraft. East Anglia Offshore Wind is Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft.

Eddie O’Connor’s Mainstream Renewables and Siemans bagged the 4000 MW Hornsea zone, whilst SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd equally owned by SSE Renewables and Fluor, won the Firth of Forth Zone.

Eon and Dutch utility Eneco were left with the smaller south of England coast sites off Brighton and the Isle of Wight.

Prime Minister, Gordon Brown MP said: “Our policies in support of offshore wind energy have already put us ahead of every other country in the world. This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity. The offshore wind industry is at the heart of the UK economy’s shift to low carbon and could be worth £75 billion and support up to 70,000 jobs by 2020.”

Green Light for Power Line Good for Scottish Wind Energy

The contentious new power line from Beauly in the Scottish Highlands to Denny in the south was given the green light today.

Minister for Energy Jim Mather MSP announced the Beauly-Denny Transmission Upgrade:

“The Beauly – Denny upgrade is the most significant grid infrastructure project in a generation. Scotland’s electricity network needs significant reinforcement to allow our vast renewables potential to be harnessed, transmitted and exported – currently we simply do not have the transmission capacity to carry the green energy which Scotland will generate over the coming years.”

“The Beauly-Denny upgrade will help unlock Scotland’s onshore and offshore energy potential and this consent recognises the wider context, benefits and challenges of a development of this scale and opportunity.”

The proposed power lines were subject to an extensive Public Inquiry in 2007. Inquiry Reporters concluded that the line is necessary from a technical and economic perspective, and is consistent with both the Applicants’ duties under the Electricity Act and with national Planning and Energy policy.

The Reporters recommended that, apart from two short sections, the line should be consented.

Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables said the upgrade is good news for the economy, employment and the environment. “The upgrade is absolutely vital if we are to capture the full potential of Scotland’s unique wind, wave and tidal resources” said Stuart.

UK Electricity from Renewables Increases 25%

Electricity from renewables has risen by 25% according to new government statistics released at the end of December. Wind energy alone produced 38.9% more by the end of Quarter 3 2009, than in 2008.

Renewable energy now accounts for 7% of the UK’s electricity after a 2% increase in 2009. Renewables generated 5.50 Terrawatt hours with roughly half supplying domestic homes and half supplying industry.

Overall, electricity consumption in some sectors fell with the sharpest fall in the industrial sector demonstrating effects of the recession. Both oil and gas consumption fell.

The figures were issued in DUKES http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn150/pn150.aspx