UK green lights two massive offshore wind farms

London, 21 December: Two giant offshore wind farms have been given the go-ahead from the UK government to begin construction.

With a combined capacity of 1,300MW, or 1% of the UK's total demand, the London Array and Thanet wind farms will be able to generate enough electricity to supply one third of London's households.
Environment secretary David Miliband said of the decision to grant planning consent to the projects: "We expect this announcement will be the first of a number of large-scale offshore wind farms in the UK and will provide real impetus for the continued developments in the offshore renewable energy sector that will benefit generations to come."
The London Array is set to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world when built and the first with the capacity to generate 1,000MW. It will be sited 20km offshore, at the edge of the Thames Estuary.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds initially opposed the development, because of fears that it would cause bird deaths, but the organisation has since pledged its support.

The developers – E.ON UK, Shell WindEnergy and CORE – are hoping to start construction in 2009. The project is estimated to cost at least £1.5 billion ($2.9 billion).

But it is still contingent on receiving planning permission for an onshore substation from Swale borough council in Kent, which will be used to connect its 341 turbines to the grid. Although planning officers recommended the plans for approval, it was blocked by councillors worried about extra traffic and the visual impact of the substation.

Jonathan Smith, a spokesperson for E.ON UK, said that the consortium is "hopeful" that the plans will be approved on appeal early in 2007.

Warwick Energy's £500 million, 300MW wind farm at Thanet is likely to be built first, with construction slated to start in 2007 and be completed in 2008.

This project has received all the consents it needs to go ahead with construction, and Warwick Energy will begin fundraising early next year. Deutsche Bank and Tokyo Mitsubishi will arrange the debt financing for the project.

Mark Petterson, project director at Warwick Energy, said: "Receiving consents is a major milestone for any project and we are relieved to have finally reached this point for Thanet."

Petterson said he is not expecting construction to be held up by the turbine shortages which have plagued other developers. "We have a slot booked with Vestas," he added.

Smith at E.ON said that it is too soon to make any arrangements to supply the London Array with turbines, but he added that the consortium does not expect to encounter problems sourcing equipment because the project would represent such a huge order. "I would imagine a turbine manufacturer would be quite keen to talk," he said.

Maria McCaffery, chief executive of the British Wind Energy Association, said: "The significance of these decisions is far greater than the projects themselves, although they will bring many notable benefits to the UK in terms of clean carbon-free generation.

"Far more important is the clear signal from the UK to the rest of the world that this country is open for business for offshore wind and we look forward to more consents in the near future."