Wind Energy Planning

UK Back on the Green Energy Investment Track

After the PR disaster of the Vestas factory closure on the Isle of Wight, the UK Prime Minister is looking to reel in another wind turbine manufacturer and step up investment to get the country back on the green manufacturing track.

The Guardian’s Terry Macalister reported yesterday that PM Gordon Brown wants Siemens to open a factory in the UK as soon as possible. The move would provide a renewable energy manufacturing base and green collar jobs. The goverment is desperate to secure economic benefits from its huge potential wind energy market.

According to the Guardian, the prime minister will meet CEO of Siemens, Peter Löscher to provide some certainty and comfort on the delivery of a large scale offshore wind energy market. This lack of confidence in wind energy market growth was what led to the Vestas decision to abandon the UK.

A Siemens offshore wind representative said that the company will be closely watching what comes out of the Crown Estate’s Round 3 offshore wind farm license announcements which are imminent.

World’s First Floating Wind Turbine

The world’s first ‘full scale’ floating wind turbine has been installed off the Norwegian coast by Statoil Hydro.

The 2.3 Megawatt turbine has 100 metres of ballast below the water to support the massive structure. It is expected to generate enough green electricity for the equivalent of 1600 UK homes.

The project costing US $16m is a test case with US $9m allocated for ‘testing’. This video explains the project and interviews a StatoilHydro representative.

Irish Offshore Wind Energy Stifled By Lack of Grid

Irish transmission system operator – Eirgrid has announced that it is looking into possible solutions to allow offshore wind energy projects to connect to the electricity grid. Wind energy projects off the coast of Ireland are currently stalled because of a lack of grid infrastructure. One solution mooted is a north to south cable running under the sea bed.