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Offshore Wind

BWEA Briefing Note

July 2003

Britain poised on the brink of a new energy epoch

Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt launches 'Round 2' of offshore wind farms for the UK

Long lingering at the bottom of the European renewable energy league table, the country with the best wind resource in Europe has been slow to develop the accompanying industry, but today's announcement from the Department of Trade and Industry signals a clear change for the future.

DTI is forecasting that the next generation of offshore wind farms could generate power for 1 in 6 UK households by 2010 and put Government well on track to meeting it's legally binding target to obtain 10% of the country's electricity supplies from renewable sources by the end of the decade.

On the same day, the industry's professional body, BWEA, has released the results of new opinion poll research among UK bill payers, which shows a vast majority are supportive of Government's ambitions as laid out in the Energy White Paper to double the renewables share of the generation mix to 20% by 2020. The survey also revealed the continuing high level of support for wind energy, with a massive 74% of bill payers polled in favour of increasing the use of wind power in the UK. Today's announcement from government to expand offshore wind therefore comes with the support of three-quarters of Britain's tax payers.

In addition to powering 4 million homes across the country, successful projects built under 'Round 2' could also lead the way for a new industry with tens of thousands of jobs in construction, installation and maintenance of the next generation of wind turbines, creating a huge opportunity for Britain to become a world leader in this exciting new power sector.

"No single country has as yet established itself as a clear leader in offshore wind: the UK has an existing infrastructure and expertise in the offshore sector which could readily be converted to harness the power of the wind. "
BWEA Chairman Alan Moore speaking at this morning's press conference.

DTI's announcement

The Department of Trade has released proposals for the next generation of offshore wind farms, forecast to provide up to 6GW (gigawatts) of new energy generation by 2010, enough to power 15% of all households in the United Kingdom, and representing significant progress to renewables targets.

Announcing the launch, Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt said:

"This announcement represents a big step towards meeting our goals. Offshore wind has potential to provide a significant proportion of the UK's energy needs."

"It will help the UK renewables industry to grow, building on our world leading expertise in offshore manufacturing, creating over 20,000 new jobs in manufacturing, installation and maintenance, as the wind farms take shape."

Click to see a larger version Three strategic areas have been identified by the Crown Estate and the DTI as appropriate for development:

  • Thames Estuary
  • Greater Wash
  • North West

The sites were originally identified in November in the DTI's Future Offshore consultation, but have since been subject to rigorous environmental assessment, to assess the impact of proposed development, before sites could be offered for leasing.

Today The Secretary of State has asked The Crown Estate to invite wind farm developers to tender for sites in all the areas.

Read the DTI's press release online at www.dti.gov.uk

The Government's Energy White Paper: Our Energy Future – Creating a Low Carbon Economy is available online at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/index.shtml

BWEA's opinion poll

A survey was carried out by Ipsos amongst 2,624 UK household bill payers between 6th and 19th June. 74% of respondents were supportive of the Government's ambition to generate 20% of electricity from renewables by 2020, and a similar level of support was demonstrated for increasing the use of wind power in the UK.

At 74% in favour, this echoes closely the findings of previous opinion polls carried out in the UK since the first wind farm started generating electricity, with a consistently high level of support. A summary of 42 surveys carried out between 1990 and 2002 shows an average 77% of the public in favour of wind energy, with an average 9% against, less than one in 10 people.

Click here to read BWEA's press release New power for Britain - Government's expansion of wind power backed by public

DTI Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt, commented:

"The Government is serious about delivering on our renewables targets and cutting carbon dioxide emissions, and offshore wind energy is key to these goals. This survey shows that people in the UK agree with us on the need for greater use of renewable energy."

Industry statistics

There are currently 1029 turbines installed in the UK, at 80 locations around the country, with a total combined capacity of 580MW or (0.58GW), including 2 installed off the coast of Blyth in Northumberland.

DTI's expectations for R2 therefore represents a 10-fold increase on current capacity.

Turbines already operational in the UK generate an average 1.54TWh per annum, equivalent to:

  • 0.45% of total UK electricity supply (343TWh)
  • 1.4% of domestic consumption (115TWh)
  • 325,000 homes (based on 4700kWh average annual consumption)
  • Carbon dioxide savings of 1.3 million tons
    (each unit of wind generation displaces 860g of CO2 - coal plant as load following)

R2 could potentially generate 18TWh (at 0.35 capacity factor) – equivalent to:

  • 5% of total UK electricity supply
  • 15% of domestic supply
  • ~3.9 million homes
  • CO2 savings of over15 million tons

The DTI forecasts that R2 could power 1 in 6 UK homes by 2010.

R1 is anticipated to realise 1.5GW by ~2006 – generating 4.6TWh pa – equivalent to:

  • 4% of domestic supply
  • 1.3% of total UK supply
  • 975,000 homes
  • CO2 savings of 4 million tons

How does it all add up - how much is wind power likely to contribute by 2010?

  GW % of total supply
Installed 0.58 0.45
R1 1.5 1.3
R2 6.0 5
Onshore wind farms with consent & not yet built 0.7 0.5
2010 total - excluding projects onshore still in planning 8.8 6.55
2010 target 10.4

A list of all projects with consent can be viewed at www.bwea.com/ukwed/

Jobs

Approximately 2,000 are employed directly in the UK wind industry. This compares with the 70,000 employed in Europe, home to three-quarters of global installed capacity.

The DTI projects that R2 alone could create a further 20,000 jobs for Britain, in the construction, installation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.

The UK has a strong capability in with members of BWEA already active in manufacturing and other elements of the supply chain:

  • Vestas-Celtic, a subsidiary of the world's leading turbine manufacturer, Machrihanish, Scotland, manufactures towers and assembles complete turbines and now employs 200 people, 90% of whom are from the local community.
  • NEG Micon is the largest employer on the Isle of Wight at its blade manufacturing facility. Together with the rotor assembly plant in Surrey, they employ over 400 people.
  • The German turbine manufacturer DeWind was recently acquired by UK company FKI and now employs 400 people manufacturing complete turbines in it's plant in Loughborough.
  • Bangor-based tower manufacturer Cambrian Engineering has recently opened a new plant on the old Arnish shipyard on the Isle of Lewis.

These are only a few examples of the many companies in membership of the Association involved in the various aspects of wind energy development, not just manufacturing but also environmental consultancy, electrical and civil engineering to name but a few. Visit BWEA's online Company Directory to find out more.

Another offshore wind farm gets the go ahead!

Merseyside's first offshore wind farm, Burbo Offshore, has been granted Government consent today. Located in Liverpool Bay, at the entrance to the River Mersey, the 90MW project which had a high level of support from the local community of over 90%, will start generating it's first electricity in 2005.

Visit the SeaScape Energy website to find out more.

Q&A's

Why is today's announcement so important?
This is a strong signal from Government to industry, business, the public and other countries around the world that the UK intends to be a world leader in the development of offshore wind power. Successful projects from today's new launch will not only generate significant amounts of carbon-free electricity but they also represent a fantastic opportunity to create a new industry for the UK, generating 10's of thousands of new jobs, using skills and resources we already possess in our workforce. Already we are seeing the evidence of the formation of that industry with recent investments by major manufacturing companies here in the UK; more will follow as these projects come to fruition.

Public attitudes

Why is today's survey so important?
It's not just the 'public' - it's that proportion of the public which pay the bills, including the electricity one!

Also, the results are remarkably consistent with every other opinion poll carried out in the UK even before the first wind farm stated generating in 1991: an average 77% (eight in ten people) are in favour of wind energy – and an average 9% (less than one in ten) are not.

If this is 'Round 2' what was 'Round 1'?
Round 1 was launched in December 2000 and the successful applicants were announced in April 2001. 18 sites at 13 locations were awarded (some were multiple developments); of those, 7 have already received consent, 1 receives consent today, and a further 5 are still in the planning system.

Construction has already started on the first of these, North Hoyle, off the coast of Prestatyn in North Wales, and National Wind Power say this should be generating it's first electricity by autumn. Powergen Renewables' Scroby Sands is the next likely one to be built, 2km off the coast of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.

What's the background to 'Round Two'?
DTI held a consultation - Future Offshore - which concluded in February 2003. This was aimed at developing a strategic framework for the offshore wind (and other marine renewables) industry. 20 issues were raised in the consultation, including the consents process and the legal framework, the need for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and the necessary electrical infrastructure. (BWEA's press notice on it's response is online at http://www.bwea.com/media/news/foc.html)

Following that, and three days after the publication of the Energy White Paper (24th Feb) the Crown Estate asked for expressions of interest in the development of new offshore wind sites. (see http://www.bwea.com/media/news/ce_round2.html). The results, announced at BWEA's conference UK Offshore Wind in March, pre-registered interest from 29 companies in 70 locations around the UK coastline.

R2 sites will be far larger, utilising more powerful machines, and probably at greater distances from shore. Each R1 site was awarded for a maximum of 30 turbines; there is no limit for R2, and some seriously big schemes, as much as 1GW, are likely to be proposed. Projects successful in R2 are likely to start building in 2008.

Does Britain have any offshore wind farms - what's Blyth Offshore?
The first offshore wind farm in British waters, 1km off the coast of Blyth Harbour in Northumberland, the 2 2MW turbines were officially commissioned in December 2000. Blyth was already home to 9 300kW turbines, installed on the outer harbour wall in January 1993. Although only two turbines, at the time of installation, these were the largest turbines to be installed anywhere in the world and the first to be installed in such an extreme environment – the North Sea.

Are there offshore wind farms anywhere else?
There are currently 11 operational offshore wind farms around the world, with 163 turbines totalling 260MW. These are mainly in Denmark and Sweden, in the Baltic Sea.

What's the biggest offshore wind farm in the world?
The largest offshore wind farm to date is Horns Rev, with 80 Vestas 2MW machines commissioned in 2002. Work is currently underway on Nysted, another Danish scheme, which with 72 Bonus 2.3MW machines will pip Horns Rev at the post by totalling 165.6MW! As of 9th July, A2Sea had installed 52 of the turbines, so this project is now 70% complete.

Where will the new wind farms be?
DTI has identified 3 strategic areas for development: The Greater Wash, the Thames Estuary and the North West (see map above). However, we don't know exactly where specific projects will be. No one does. What's happening today is that the Secretary of State is inviting bids for sites, not actually awarding them.

How far out to sea will the new wind farms be?
R2 projects will be located at far greater distances from shore, about 10-30km offshore. Some projects could even be built beyond the UK's territorial limits of 12 nautical miles - but industry is waiting for the necessary legislation (12 nautical miles ~ 20kms)

Will I be able to see them - isn't this going to be a visual eyesore?
At those distances from shore, not likely - especially given the UK's normal weather which doesn't let you see to the horizon!

How big will they be?
Again, it's too early to know specific projects details, but R2 projects will most likely be far bigger scale than R1, and there are no limits on how many turbines, so could be hundreds of turbines per site, rather than the 30 prescribed in R1. Together with economies of scale and the far more powerful turbines which are likely to be available by the time these projects come to fruition, (there's already a 3.6MW machine, and 5 and 6MW machines are on the drawing board), we could see wind farms at sea which generate the same amounts of electricity as conventional thermal-fired coal, gas and even nuclear power stations (ie 1GW).

Aren't offshore wind farms a danger to birds/shipping/navigation?
Sensitive siting is key to wind energy development - we don't build wind farms in the middle of a motorway, and we certainly won't be building offshore wind farms in shipping lanes or on bird migration routes or feeding grounds! Just as onshore wind energy developments monitor proposed sites carefully for their suitability for development, so offshore wind farms are monitored - usually for two seasons to get a full idea of all the species that might be present.

But won't the wind still stop blowing at sea - what happens then?
Offshore wind speeds are not necessarily higher than those onshore, but they are more constant and it's easier to forecast weather offshore. Conventional power plants 'trip' all the time, and the UK electricity supply copes with that. Also, Don't forget that there will always be some wind blowing somewhere in the UK - we are after all the windiest country in Europe!

Won't the grid to bring this electricity to shore be expensive - who's going to pay?
A good question and one which will hopefully be answered as a result of the DTI's consultation. A lot of work is going on at the moment regarding 're-wiring' Britain for the new energy era, but we don't have all the answers yet.

Is it all good news?
Possibly not. Many commentators, especially in the investor community, feel that the single greatest threat facing industry at this stage is the uncertainty of the renewables market post 2010.the stability of the renewables market beyond 2010.

Without the assurance of a long-term market beyond 2010, many developers are finding it difficult to raise the necessary finance to see projects through to completion. BWEA is therefore calling on Government to provide that assurance: we believe that the Government's commitment to doing this will be essential if the benefits of today's announcements are to be realised here in the UK and not lost to other countries as we have seen happen before.

Don't forget onshore!
Why not? Onshore wind power is a well understood technology, and at a good site, is price competitive with conventional generation technologies. Offshore is more expensive to build, given the environment and of course the cable back to shore, but prices will fall as we gain the necessary experience in deployment. Indeed, those prices are already falling for new offshore wind installations - notably Horns Rev. However, onshore could well play a larger role in meeting 10% targets than will offshore.