World's Biggest Offshore Wind Park Goes Live

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719170,00.html

World's Biggest Offshore Wind Park Goes Live in UK
By Carsten Volkery



Vattenfall's Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, off the southeast coast of England, currently the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
Swedish energy giant Vattenfall on Thursday opened Thanet, the world's biggest offshore energy park, off the British coast. It is seen as a forerunner for a new generation of huge wind farms in northern Europe. But the British government's cost-cutting plans may yet jeopardize some of those plans.

For a politician proud of his green credentials, it was a photo opportunity made in heaven. A forest of wind turbines reaching more than 35 kilometres (22 miles) into the distance, each one jutting 115 meters (380 feet) into the sky. Thanet, the world's biggest wind park, was opened at a site off the British coastline near Kent on Thursday.

British Energy Secretary Chris Huhne did not want to miss his big chance to witness the scene. The Liberal Democratic politician and Vattenfall chief Øystein Løseth took a boat from the port of Ramsgate out into the North Sea. The park, consisting of around 100 huge turbines, lies 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) off the coast.

The park can produce up to 300 megawatts of electricity in optimal wind conditions, enough to power over 200,000 homes. That is significantly less than the energy produced by a nuclear power station, but the energy industry is still very excited about the launch. According to the industry association Renewable UK, Great Britain is now producing more offshore wind energy than the rest of the world combined.

Since 2008, the windy island has been the world's leading offshore energy provider. Thanks to Thanet, national output has risen by one-third. British wind farms in the North Sea and the Atlantic now have a capacity of 1,340 megawatts, compared to 1,100 megawatts in all other countries.

Subsidies Endangered

At the start of the year, the Labour government announced subsidies in the double-digit billions for offshore energy projects. The extra impetus was much needed because the United Kingdom seriously lags behind the rest of Europe when it comes to renewable energy. Only 6 percent of British electricity comes from sun, water and wind -- in Germany the figure is about three times as much. If they want to hit the European Union goal of producing 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020, then the British will need to make an effort to catch up soon.

But following the recent change of government, it is unclear as yet what will happen to the island's offshore aspirations. Environmental groups like Greenpeace fear that the Liberal-Conservative government will slash spending on renewables as part of its cost-cutting drive. The extent of any cuts will be made public on Oct. 20 when Chancellor George Osbourne announces the results of a government spending review.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Huhne underlined his support for wind energy at the Liberal Democrat party conference this week. "Forty miles from here, at Gwynt y Môr, they'll start building a new offshore wind farm next year, big enough to power a third of the homes in Wales," Huhne said. "I want to see this again and again round Britain's coasts."

A Silver Bullet?

According to Renewable UK, there is still a £60 million ($94 million) fund available, designed for the expansion of ports. Investors like Siemens have signalled their interest in an offshore investment once the necessary infrastructure is in place.

Offshore wind energy is seen as a silver bullet in Great Britain, even though it is a comparatively expensive energy form. The technical demands are far higher for wind parks built on land. An investment costs at least â,¬3.5 million ($4.7 million) per megawatt of energy capacity -- and that price is rising. In addition, the energy produced is far from constant. Because of the variable wind strength, one has to build three times the capacity one actually needs, according to Ian Parrett, analyst at the British energy consultancy Inenco.

So it is little wonder that the sector has suffered during the financial crisis. Many electricity providers have shied away from making big investments. Last year, the US turbine manufacturer Clipper sold only 43 turbines, compared to 127 in the same period a year earlier. In order to survive, the firm has gone to its leading shareholder for help. And due to weak demand, another turbine manufacturer, the Danish company Vestas closed its factory on the Isle of Wight in England last year.

But experts still predict further growth for the market in Britain. Many projects are already being planned. Thanet will also soon lose its status as the world's biggest wind park. In 2012, the first 175 turbines from the London Array wind park are expected to link up to the national grid. With a final size of 340 turbines, this project, in the Thames Estuary, is going to be more than three times bigger than its little brother in Kent.

[Jason]

22 miles of those things!?  That is very impressive.  Kudos to England for leading the green energy charge.

I'm curious to find out more on the technicalities of these wind farms.

[BridgeTroll]

More info on this one...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanet_Wind_Farm

The project covers an area of 13.5 square miles (35 km2), with 500 metres (1,600 ft) between turbines and 800 metres (2,600 ft) between the rows. Average water depth is 20â€"25 metres (66â€"82 ft). Planning permission for the project was granted on 18 December 2006.[5] According to Thanet Offshore Wind Ltd, it was expected to be "the largest operational offshore wind farm in the World".[6] The Thanet project has got a total capacity of up to 300 MW which is sufficient to supply approximately 240,000 homes.

Seems like this would be a good fit of the Jacksonville coastline...

[Dog Walker]

Sorry, BT, we don't have the wind or the waves for wind or wave powered energy, but we do have the sun.  The part of the world where they have put those wind farms has some of the nastiest, windy weather in the world.

[BridgeTroll]

Here is a Georgia study that may say differently...

http://www.gawwg.org/images/Talking_points_December_2007_compressed_rev.pdf

Welcome to the USOWC


The mission of the US Offshore Wind Collaborative (USOWC) is to address the technical, environmental, economic and regulatory issues necessary to catalyze the sustainable development of offshore wind energy in the waters of the United States.

http://www.usowc.org/index.html

[Debbie Thompson]

Dog Walker, last year I saw a documentary on TV about green energy.  The film mentioned there were only a few locations in the US where offshore windmill farms would work well, and directly off the coast of Jacksonville was one of those locations.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the documentary, or we could go check out the credentials of those who said it. :-)

[Overstreet]

........directly off the coast of Jacksonville was one of those locations........

Can you fish the base structure?  Think of it all those barnical encrusted fish attractors in 50 ot 60 feet of water. Just have to lower the fishing towers and outriggers. Maybe wear a hard hat. 

[Dog Walker]

Debbie, it would have to be WAY offshore.  This part of the world simply doesn't have the sustained winds to make wind power economical on a large scale.  Small scale in certain locations maybe.

Drive down Atlantic Blvd.  When you get just opposite Craig Field look at the shopping center on the South side of the road.  Those rotary things you see are vertical wind turbines producing power, not just advertising eye catchers.  Because they are opposite an open field they actually get enough wind to produce usable power, but they are small scale.  It doesn't take as much wind to make them move.

[BridgeTroll]

Here is the data DW...

http://www.gawwg.org/images/Talking_points_December_2007_compressed_rev.pdf


Welcome to the USOWC


The mission of the US Offshore Wind Collaborative (USOWC) is to address the technical, environmental, economic and regulatory issues necessary to catalyze the sustainable development of offshore wind energy in the waters of the United States.


http://www.usowc.org/index.html

[Dog Walker]

That's not much wind, BT, at least not for current wind turbine designs.  I have run a boat through those waters for years.  A huge number of smaller or vertical turbines might work, but the economics of it just don't make sense.  You really need higher sustained winds closer to shore to get the best efficiencies.

Don't get me wrong.  I am a proponent of wind power when it is in the right place.  In Florida and Georgia we need to be looking at P/V solar and concentrated solar first.

There is some real wishful thinking going on in that study, IMHO.