Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

Europe Picks up Pace on Offshore Wind

118 new offshore wind turbines were connected to the electricity grid network in the first half of 2010 according to The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) today.

The new offshore wind farms across Europe total 333 Megawatts (MW) indicating that 2010 is set to be a more progressive year than 2009 which delivered 577 MW at the end of the full year. 151 additional wind turbines have been built but not connected to the grid taking the total installed to 440 MW.

According to EWEA figures there are now 43 operational offshore wind farms in Europe with a total capacity of 2,396 MW.

Brown Praises Siemens Offshore Wind Energy Work

The UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the Siemens facility in Manchester this week and took the opportunity to speak of the bright future for the company in the offshore wind sector.

The tour involved visiting the facility that has carried out work on offshore wind energy. There were alse demonstrations of technologies used in the oil and gas sector, power stations and other industries.

Brown praised the work of Siemens in the UK and pointed to its crucial role in the future of UK wind energy and renewables.

Ministry of Defence Withdraws Objection to UK Offshore Wind Farms

Ministry of Defence (MOD) objections to over 3 GW of UK offshore wind farms have been resolved further to years of discussion and new funding.

The 5 offshore wind farms off the east coast of England in the Greater Wash were considered to pose a conflict with air defence due to the potential for wind turbines to show up on the MOD’s radar screens. However cash has been stumped up by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and the wind industry to buy a new TPS77 radar which has the ability to screen out the wind turbines.

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.

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.

New £15m Wind Turbine Test Facility Planned for Blyth, UK

A new wind turbine blade test facility is planned for Blyth in the north east of England it was announced by R& D company Nirec today.

The £15 million ($24m) facility will test new turbine blade designs before they are used in offshore wind farms. The wind turbine blades to be tested will be up to 100 metres in length.

Narec are providers of R&D, consultancy, test and demonstration facilities for the renewable energy sector. The blade test centre will be the biggest of its type in the world, expanding the existing testing capability developed over the last five years at Blyth.

The expansion of the centre is being funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department for Energy and Climate Change (£11.5m / $19m) and Regional Development Agency One North East (£3.5m/ $5.7m).