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Offshore Windfarm Go-Ahead, Fingers Crossed for Many More Say Environmentalists

Environmental campaigners welcomed the go-ahead for Wales's first offshore windfarm, which has been given consent today. The scheme, of 30 turbines has been put forward by National Wind Power (1).

Neil Crumpton, energy spokesperson at FOE Cymru said:

"This first step by the renewable energy industry into Welsh offshore waters is very good news for the environment and the Welsh economy. We hope that this will be the first of many schemes to harness the huge offshore wind energy resource which could supply three times the UK's electricity needs.

What's more, offshore wind energy is cheap at the price. Whilst electricity from offshore windfarms is likely to be twice as expensive as that from onshore windfarms it is still cheaper than the forecast cost of new nuclear power. And unlike nuclear facilities and shipments, windfarms do not generate toxic waste and pose little terrorist threat."

Notes

1) 30 x 2 MW (or 3MW *) turbines at North Hoyle - see NWP press release.
* turbine size depends on any delays in construction, 3MW turbines are not available this year or so.

2) Government Energy Review 2002 - Unit Cost Estimates by 2020 (PIU Report)

Below are the Unit (kWhour) electricity generation cost range estimates for 2020 for various electricity generating technologies as forecast by the Government¹s Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit. Note that a typical household consumes over 4,000 Units per year costing about 7 pence per Unit from the electricity provider.

Onshore wind 1.0 - 2.0 pence per kWhr
Gas 3.0 - 3.5 (inc 1p for sequestration)
Offshore wind 2.0 - 4.0
Tidal Flow 2.5 - 4.0
Near Shore Wave 3.0 - 4.0
Energy crops 4.5 - 6.0
Offshore wave 4.0 - 6.0
Solar PV 10.0 - 16.0
Micro CHP 2.5 - 3.5
Large CHP < 2.0
Nuclear 3.0 - 4.0
Coal (IGCC) 3.0 - 3.5
Coal 3.0 - 4.5

Sequestration means that the carbon dioxide gas not released to the atmosphere (eg pumped into old oil and gas wells) so as not to cause a global warming effect.