THE LONDON ARRAY
Wowow, big wind plans for UK wind:
Plans have been submitted to build the world's biggest wind farm in the Thames estuary. It is designed to generate enough electricity to supply a quarter of London homes.
The complex, named the London Array, is predicted to cost £1.5bn to build and would be capable of meeting 10 per cent of the Government's target to have 10 per cent of the UK's electricity generated by renewable energy resources by 2010.
If permission is granted to build the farm, 270 turbines, each 300ft (100m) in height would be constructed over 152 sq miles (245 sq km) 12 miles off the Kent coast. The proposals were submitted by a consortium formed by the energy companies, Shell, E.On Renewables and an Anglo-Danish company, Core...
With onshore projects marred by planning problems and difficulties in acquiring financial backing, the Government is relying on expansion in offshore wind to meet its renewables target as onshore projects.
The consortium hopes to get the go-ahead for the turbines, which will generate as much as 1,000 megawatts - the equivalent to a large gas or coal-burning power station and would be supply 750,000 homes - as early as next year.
Its aim is for construction to be completed by 2011.The consortium says the farm would not be an eyesore, because it is so far out to sea, and it would result in a reduction of 1.9m tonnes carbon dioxide emissions each year.
It looks like there's an informational website in the works - it'll be interesting to see if a savvy PR campaign, with lessons learned from similar projects happening around the world, can smooth the way for the approval of this project. I wonder if this will intersect with the continued push for new nuclear power plants in the UK - it's not hard to imagine windfarm opponents asking why a 152 mi2 offshore wind farm is necessary when you can get more and more reliable power from a single nuclear plant. I like wind power OK, but I feel that in the not-too-distant future, we'll look at these kinds of megafarms as kind of bizarre anomalies, an amusing reminder of the uncertainty that characterized our first efforts to solve the Global Energy Problem Thing.
UPDATE: Alt-Energy Blog linked to this story as well today, and adds links with info on the current heavyweight windfarm champion of the world as well as other upcoming contenders.