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Offshore WindIntroductionThe first large scale offshore wind farm in the UK, North Hoyle, was commissioned in December 2003 and the second, Scroby Sands one year later in December 2004, followed by the world's largest offshore wind farm, the 90-MW Kentish Flats in 2005. Together with the Blyth Offshore pilot project this makes a total of 213.80 MW of offshore wind around the UK coast. But this is only the beginning. Offshore wind energy is expected to be a major contributor towards the Government's 2010 target for renewable generation, and is being taken increasingly seriously by the UK energy sector. Companies involved in the UK offshore market now include multinational energy and utility companies. There is 954 MW of projects with planning consent waiting to be built, and a second round of offshore tenders from the Crown Estate with a total of 7.2 GW waiting for applications, evquivalent to 7% of UK supply. In total BWEA projects that offshore wind will contribute as much as 4% to the Government's 2010 targets for renewable energy. The UK has potentially the largest offshore wind resource in the world, with relatively shallow waters and a strong wind resource extending far into the North Sea. The UK has been estimated to have over 33% of the total European potential offshore wind resource - enough to power the country nearly three times over. 
History of UK Offshore WindThe possibility of taking the then embryonic wind energy industry offshore was raised nearly 30 years ago. Following on from the first offshore wind farms in Denmark, It took until 1996 for the first applications to be made under the Government's now defunct NFFO renewables support scheme. These were for two developments off the east cost of Britain, at Gunfleet Sands in Essex and at Blyth in Northumberland. Blyth Offshore became the UK's first offshore wind farm when it was commissioned in December 2000. The wind resource around the UK is vast, with an area of sea about the size of London capable of meeting 10% of the UK's electricity needs. In order for this to be properly exploited, BWEA initiated discussions with the government in 1998 with the aim of drawing up formal guidelines for negotiations with the Crown Estate, the body which officially owns almost all the UK coastline out to 12 nautical miles. These were published in September 1999. A group of prospective developers proceeded to co-operate with the Crown Estate, which released information on the process for site allocation and leasing in December 2000. There was a tremendous response with more applications submitted than had been anticipated, and the resulting successfully qualifying consortia and their potential sites were announced in April 2001. This was Round 1 of UK Offshore WInd Development, consisting of 18 sites of up to 30 turbines around the UK coast. The BWEA also initiated a 'stakeholder dialogue' with interested parties, including fishermen, tourist boards and bird protection groups. A third-party mediator, the Environmental Council, was instrumental in creating a high degree of consent, with the result of BWEA's Best Practice Guidelines for offshore wind energy development. Shortly after the start of Round 1 a series capital grants for offshore wind farms through the New Opportunities Fund was announced. Consented projects received grants of up to £10m per project, approximately 10% of project costs, on condition of the beginning of construction. These formed a welcome bridge between the RO and early offshore project costs. Some of these projects have now changed hands or merged. In early 2006, 4 operational wind farms were generating clean power in the UK, including the first large-scale project North Hoyle, and the largest offshore project Kentish Flats. To find out more about offshore follow the links below.
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