April 6, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Britain to be world leader in offshore wind power

LONDON, April 6, Graphic News: Renewable energy was given a huge boost with the announcement Thursday by BritainÕs Crown Estate for licences for 18 new offshore wind farms.

Each farm will be about five kilometres (three miles) off the coast -- at that distance the structures, despite being 50 metres (165ft) high, will look just a few millimetres tall. Crown Estates, which owns most of the seabed around Britain has granted licenses for wind farms in the North Sea off East Anglia, the Irish Sea and the Thames Estuary. 

Environmental groups welcomed the move as the Òdawn of a new era.Ó The farms could generate enough electricity for one million homes and save the equivalent of 4.5 million tonnes a year of greenhouse gas emissions, Friends of the Earth said yesterday. Between them the 18 projects are expected to create 8,000 new jobs.

Some of the biggest energy companies are lining up to spend £1.6bn to build the new farms. Investors include Powergen, Innogy, British Energy, Shell and Cheshire engineering giant Amec.

Energy minister Peter Hain said the new licences were an Òencouraging start.Ó The government is giving £260m for renewable energy projects over the next three years, and has set a target of generating 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2010. At the moment, just 2.8 percent comes from renewable means.

Mark Johnston, Climate Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said: ÒThese projects will also make a major contribution to cutting the pollution from fossil fuels, the major cause of climate change. It will also ease the growing volume of radioactive waste. This demonstrates to the rest of the world -- and especially to President Bush in the White House -- that the UK is able and willing to fulfil its international obligations on tackling dangerous climate change.Ó
/ENDS
Sources: Friends of the Earth, PlattÕs Commodity News