UK Reaches A Milestone In Renewable Energy
Saturday 15 May 2010By EU Reporter Correspondents
Despite years of inertia that has seen the UK lag behind much of Europe, and indeed the world, in the field of renewable energy a major milestone has just been reached. Britain's offshore wind energy capacity has just reached 1 gigawatt.
The two offshore wind farms, Robin Rigg and Gunfleet Sands, comprise a total of 336 wind turbines at the time of writing - providing energy for 700,000 homes. Although still behind the leaders in the field, Britain currently has 40GW of offshore wind farms at different stages of development, although some have only received planning permission at present.
Although the British government has been slow to embrace the concept of renewable energy, the requirement to meet EU imposed targets has kick-started development. However, some might feel that tidal energy might be a more suitable avenue for the UK to explore. The waters around the Channel Islands have been identified as having the greatest potential for harvesting tidal energy in Europe. The coastline around the island of Alderney alone may yield 750MW to as much as 3GW per annum. The Bailiwick of Guernsey could produce a staggering 25GW of power, roughly equivalent to the output of 25 nuclear power stations.
Wind-energy may be a short-term answer to meeting current renewable targets, but does it have sufficient potential to carry us into a fossil-fuel free future? If the Danes had such tidal resources, it is highly unlikely that they would have concentrated so much on wind-energy, although this has been a great success story for them. The Island of Samsø, for example, takes 100% of its electricity from the wind, and is now exporting energy. Indeed, with this and its efficient use of solar energy, the island is now carbon neutral in terms of energy production.
Britain has a long way to go, but can be seen to be catching up. Let us hope that playing catch-up is not the way it will always be!