Wind power in the United Kingdom

File:UK windfarm growth.PNG

UK installed wind power capacity 1990–2011 (operational)

At the beginning of 2012, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was 5,953 megawatts (MW), with 321 operational wind farms and 3,506 wind turbines in the UK. The UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power.

723 MW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2011, a 40% decrease on 2010. 2012 is expected to be a significant year for the offshore wind industry with potentially 5 farms becoming operational with over 1,300 MW of generating capability.

Through the Renewables Obligation, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MW·h of electricity they have purchased. Within the UK, wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy after biomass.

Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than 2,000 MW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years. By 2020, the UK could have more than 28,000 MW of wind capacity.

History

In 2007 the UK Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of EU’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Each EU member state was given its own allocated target; for the UK it is 15%. This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive. As renewable heat and fuel production in the UK are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35–40% of the UK’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date, to be met largely by 33–35 GW of installed wind capacity.

In December 2007, the Government announced plans for an expansion of wind energy in the UK, by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of up to 25 GW worth of wind farm offshore sites in preparation for a new round of development. These proposed sites are in addition to the 8 GW worth of sites already awarded in the 2 earlier rounds of site allocations, Round 1 in 2001 and Round 2 in 2003. Taken together it is estimated that this would result in the construction of over 7,000 offshore wind turbines.

723 MW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2011, a 40% decrease on 2010. Only one offshore wind farm, phase 1 of the Walney Wind Farm, was completed in 2011 with a capacity of 183 MW. This compares with a total 653 MW built offshore in 2010. Onshore installations were very similar to the previous year with 540 MW completed. The largest coming on stream being the 120 MW Arecleoch Wind Farm in South Ayrshire. A highlight of 2011 was on 28 December when wind power set a record contribution to the UK's demand for electricity of 12.2%.

2012 is expected to be a significant year for the offshore wind industry with potentially 5 farms becoming operational with over 1.3 GW of generating capability. As of January 2012, there were 321 operational wind farms in the UK, with 3,506 turbines and 5,953 MW of installed capacity. A further 3,519 MW worth of schemes are currently under construction, while another 5,804 MW have planning consent and some 9,849 MW are in planning awaiting approval.

Offshore wind farms

See also: List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom

Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm.

Scroby Sands wind farm from Great Yarmouth

The United Kingdom became the world leader of offshore wind power generation in October 2008 when it overtook Denmark. It also has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, the Thanet wind farm, located off the Kent coast. Currently it has 1,858 MW of operational nameplate capacity, with a further 2,359 MW in construction. The UK has been estimated to have over a third of Europe's total offshore wind resource, which is equivalent to three times the electricity needs of the nation at current rates of electricity consumption, although this is only at times when the wind blows. (In 2010 peak winter demand was 59.3 GW, in summer it drops to about 45 GW). One estimate calculates that wind turbines in one third of UK waters shallower than 25 metres (82 ft) would, on average, generate 40 GW; turbines in one third of the waters between 25 metres (82 ft) and 50 metres (164 ft) depth would on average generate a further 80 GW, i.e. 120 GW in total). An estimate of the theoretical maximum potential of the UK's offshore wind resource in all waters to 700 metres (2,300 ft) depth gives the average power as 2200 GW.

The first developments in UK offshore wind power came about through the now discontinued Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO), leading to two wind farms, Blyth Offshore and Gunfleet sands. The NFFO was introduced as part of the Electricity Act 1989 and obliged UK electricity supply companies to secure specified amounts of electricity from non-fossil sources, which provided the initial spur for the commercial development of renewable energy in the UK.

The UK will require 7,500 offshore turbines by 2020 to meet EU targets.

Round 1

In 1998 the British Wind Energy Association (now RenewableUK) began discussions with the government to draw up formal procedures for negotiating with the Crown Estate, the owner of almost all the UK coastline out to distance of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km), to build offshore wind farms. The result was a set of guidelines published in 1999, to build "development" farms designed to give developers a chance to gain technical and environmental experience. The projects were limited to 10 square kilometers in size and with a maximum of 30 turbines. Locations were chosen by potential developers and a large number of applications were submitted. Seventeen of the applications were granted permission to proceed in April 2001, in what has become known as Round 1 of UK offshore wind development.

The first of the Round 1 projects was North Hoyle Wind Farm, completed in December 2003. Ten more have since been completed, the most recent being Ormonde in August 2011. They provide a total power generating capacity of 1.1 GW. The final project, Teeside, has planning consent and is awaiting construction. Five sites were withdrawn, including the Shell Flat site off the coast of Lancashire.

Round 2

Lessons learnt from Round 1, particularly the difficulty in getting planning consent for offshore wind farms, together with the increasing pressure to reduce CO₂ emissions, prompted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to develop a strategic framework for the offshore wind industry. This identified three restricted areas for larger scale development, Liverpool Bay, the Thames Estuary and the area beyond The Wash, called the Greater Wash, in the North Sea. Development was prevented in an exclusion zone between 8 and 13 km offshore to reduce visual impact and avoid shallow feeding grounds for sea birds. The new areas were tendered to prospective developers in a competitive bid process known as Round 2. The results were announced in December 2003 with 15 projects awarded with a combined power generating capacity of 7.2 GW. By far the largest of these is the 1.2 GW Triton Knoll. As before a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would be needed along with an application for planning consent.

The first of the Round 2 projects was Gunfleet Sands II, completed in April 2010 and followed by Thanet in September. Five other sites are currently under construction.

Round 1 and 2 Extensions

In May 2010 the Crown Estate gave approval for seven Round 1 and 2 sites to be extended creating an additional 2 GW of offshore wind capacity. Each wind farm extension will require a complete new planning application including an Environmental Impact Assessment and full consultation. The sites are:

• Burbo Bank and Walney: Dong Wind UK.
• Kentish Flats and Thanet: Vattenfall.
• Greater Gabbard: SSE Renewables and RWE Npower Renewables.
• Race Bank: Centrica Renewable Energy.
• Dudgeon: Warwick Energy.

Round 3

Following on from the Offshore wind SEA announced by the Government in December 2007, the Crown Estate launched a third round of site allocations in June 2008. Round 3 is envisaged on a much bigger scale than either of its predecessors – combined, Rounds 1 and 2 allocated 8 GW of sites, while Round 3 alone could identify up to 25 GW.

The Crown Estate proposed 9 offshore zones, within which a number of individual wind farms would be situated. It ran a competitive tender process to award leases to consortia of potential developers. The bidding closed in March 2009 with over 40 applications from companies and consortia and multiple tenders for each zone. On 8 January 2010 the successful bidders were announced.

Following the allocation of zones, individual planning applications still have to be sought by developers. These are unlikely to be completed before 2012 and as such the first Round 3 projects are not expected to begin generating electricity before 2015.

Round 3 consortia

During the bidding process, there was considerable speculation over which companies had bid for the zones. The Crown Estate did not make the list public and most of the consortia also remained silent. The successful bidders for each zone were eventually announced as follows:

Round 3 wind farms

Zone	Zone name	Potential power (GW)	Developer	Notes
1	Moray Firth	1.3	Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd	formed from EDP Renováveis and SeaEnergy Renewables Ltd (SERL)
2	Firth of Forth	3.5	Seagreen Wind Energy Ltd	partnership between SSE Renewables and Fluor Ltd
3	Dogger Bank	9	Forewind Ltd	a consortium made up of SSE Renewables, RWE npower, Statkraft and Statoil. If built this would be the world's largest offshore wind farm.
4	Hornsea	4	SMart Wind Ltd	joint venture between Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures
5	East Anglia	7.2	East Anglia Offshore Wind Limited	joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall AB
6	Rampion	0.6	E.ON Climate & Renewables / UK Southern Array Ltd	located south of Hastings in the English Channel
7	Navitus Bay	0.9	Eneco Round 3 Development Ltd	located to the west of the Isle of Wight
8	Atlantic Array	1.5	Bristol Channel Zone Limited (RWE npower renewables)	located in the Bristol Channel
9	Irish Sea	4.2	Centrica Energy Renewable Investments Limited
Total		32.2

Scottish offshore

In addition to the 25 GW scoped under the Round 3 SEA, the Scottish Government and the Crown Estate also called for bids on potential sites within Scottish territorial waters. These were originally considered as too deep to provide viable sites, but 17 companies submitted tenders and the Crown Estate initially signed exclusivity agreements with 9 companies for 6 GW worth of sites. Following publication of the Scottish Government's sectoral marine plan for offshore wind energy in Scottish territorial waters in March 2010, six sites were given approval subject to securing detailed consent. Subsequently 5 sites have been granted agreements for lease.

The complete list of sites including power updates and developer name changes:-

Wind farms in Scottish waters

	Site Name	Potential power (MW)	Developer	Notes
	Argyll Array	1800	Scottish Power Renewables
	Beatrice	1000	SSE Renewables plc	Application for consent expected in early 2012
	Inch Cape	1000	Repsol Nuevas Energias SA EDP Renewables	New partnership following dissolution of the original consortium
	Neart Na Gaoithe	450	Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd	Application for consent expected in early 2012
	Islay	680	SSE Renewables	Application to develop the site expected to be submitted to the Scottish Government towards the end of 2013
	Solway Firth		E.ON Climate & Renewables UK Developments	Dormant - Unsuitable for development
	Wigtown Bay		DONG Wind (UK)	Dormant - Unsuitable for development
	Kintyre		Airtricity Holdings (UK) Ltd	Cancelled due to proximity to local communities and Campbeltown Airport
	Forth Array		Fred. Olsen Renewables Ltd	Cancelled. Fred. Olsen pulled out to concentrate on its onshore developments
	Bell Rock		Airtricity Holdings (UK) Ltd Fluor Ltd	Cancelled due to radar services in the area
Total		4,930

List of built and proposed offshore wind farms

UK Offshore wind farms

Farm	Commissioned	Estimated completion	Power (MW)	No. Turbines	Notes	Round
Blyth Offshore	December 2000		4	2	Evaluation project.	NFFO
North Hoyle	December 2003		60	30	The UK's first major offshore wind farm.	1
Scroby Sands	December 2004		60	30		1
Kentish Flats	December 2005		90	30		1
Barrow Offshore Wind	May 2006		90	30		1
Burbo Bank	October 2007		90	25		1
Beatrice	August 2007		10	2	Deep water evaluation project.
Lynn and Inner Dowsing	October 2008		194	54		1
Rhyl Flats	December 2009		90	25	Officially inaugurated 2 December 2009	1
Gunfleet Sands	April 2010		173	48	Officially inaugurated 16 June 2010	1–2
Robin Rigg	April 2010		180	60		1
Thanet	September 2010		300	100	The world's second largest operational offshore wind farm	2
Walney	February 2012		367	102	The world's largest offshore wind farm.	2
Ormonde	February 2012		150	30	Commissioned 22 February 2012.	1
Sheringham Shoal		Early 2012	317	88	Under construction. Producing electricity.	2
Greater Gabbard		2012	504	140	Under construction Generated first power Jan 2010.	2
Teesside		Late 2012	62	27	Consent granted September 2007. Construction started Feb 2012.	1
Lincs		2013	270	75	Construction began March 2011	2
Gwynt y Môr		2014	576	160	Consent granted December 2008. Construction started Jan 2012.	2
London Array		2015	1,000	341	Construction began March 2011, Phase 1 complete spring 2013.	2
Westermost Rough		2014	240	40	Consent granted July 2011 Construction to start in April 2014.	2
West of Duddon Sands		2015 (assuming 2 year build)	389	108	Consent granted in 2008. Construction to start in 2013.	2
Humber Gateway		June 2015	219	73	Consent granted February 2011	2
Methil			6	1	Consent granted April 2011
Docking Shoal			500	83 to 177	Planning application submitted in December 2008. Construction to start 2015	2
Kentish Flats Extension		Aug 2014	up to 51	10 to 17	Planning application submitted in November 2011.	2 Ext
Dudgeon		2014–15	560	up to 168	Planning application submitted in December 2009	2
Race Bank		2015–16	620	88 to 206	Planning application submitted in January 2009	2
Galloper		2017	504	72 to 104	Planning application submitted in December 2011.	2 Ext
Triton Knoll		2021	1,200	240	Planning application submitted in January 2012	2
Atlantic Array		2021	1,500	250	Scoping report submitted. Planning application expected Q2 2012, 1st generation 2015	3

Onshore wind farms

See also: List of onshore wind farms in the United Kingdom

The Ardrossan Wind Farm in North Ayrshire, Scotland

The wind turbine at Green Park Business Park, Reading

The first wind farms in the UK were built onshore, and they currently generate more power than the offshore farms. The first commercial wind farm was built in 1991 at Delabole in Cornwall, it consisted of 10 turbines each with a capacity to generate a maximum of 400 kW. Following this, the early 1990s saw a small but steady growth with half a dozen farms becoming operational each year, the larger wind farms tended to be built on the hills of Wales, examples being Rhyd-y-Groes, Llandinam, Bryn Titli and Carno. Smaller farms were also appearing on the hills and moors of Northern Ireland and England. The end of 1995 saw the first commercial wind farm in Scotland go into operation at Hagshaw Hill. The late 1990s saw sustained growth as the industry matured. In 2000 the first turbines capable of generating more than 1MW were installed and the pace of growth started to accelerate as the larger power companies like Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern became increasingly involved in order to meet legal reguirements to generate a certain amount of electricity using renewable means (see Renewables Obligations below). Wind turbine development continued rapidly and by the mid 2000s 2MW+ turbines were the norm. Growth continued with bigger farms and larger, more efficient turbines sitting on taller and taller masts. Scotland's sparsely populated, hilly and windy countryside became a popular area for developers and the UKs first 100MW+ farm went operational in 2006 at Hadyard Hill in South Ayrshire. 2006 also saw the first use of the 3 MW turbine. In 2008 the largest onshore wind farm in England was completed on Scout Moor and the repowering of the Slieve Rushen wind farm created the largest farm in Northern Ireland. In 2009 the largest wind farm in the UK went live at Whitelee on Eaglesham Moor in Scotland. This is a 322 MW wind farm consisting of 140 turbines. Approval has been granted to build several more 100MW+ wind farms on hills in Scotland and will feature 3.6 MW turbines.

As of January 2012 there were 307 operational onshore wind farms in the UK with a total of 4428 MW of nameplate capacity. A further 1464 MW of capacity is being constructed, while another 3.9 GW of schemes have planning consent and 7.6 GW are in the planning stage. In 2009 UK onshore wind farms generated 7,564 GW·h of electricity, this represents a 2% contribution to the total UK electricity generation (378.5 TW·h).

Large onshore wind farms are usually directly connected to the National Grid, but smaller wind farms are connected to a regional distribution network, termed "embedded generation". In 2009 nearly half of wind generation capacity was embedded generation, but this is expected to reduce in future years as larger wind farms are built.

Gaining planning permission for onshore wind farms continues to prove difficult, with many schemes stalled in the planning system, and a high rate of refusal. The RenewableUK (formerly BWEA) figures show that there are approximately 7,000 MW worth of onshore schemes waiting for planning permission. On average a wind farm planning application takes 2 years to be considered by a local authority, with an approval rate of 40%. This compares extremely unfavourably with other types of major applications, such as housing, retail outlets and roads, 70% of which are decided within the 13–16 week statutory deadline; for wind farms the rate is just 6%. Approximately half of all wind farm planning applications, over 4 GW worth of schemes, have objections from airports and traffic control on account of their impact on radar. In 2008 NATS en Route, the BWEA, the Ministry of Defence and other Government departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding seeking to establish a mechanism for resolving objections and funding for more technical research.

List of the largest operational and proposed onshore wind farms

UK Onshore wind farms

Wind farm	County	Country	Turbine model	Power (MW) each turbine	No. Turbines	Total capacity (MW)	Commissioned	Notes
Crystal Rig	Scottish Borders	Scotland	Nordex N80/ Siemens SWT-2.3	2.5/2.3	25/60	200.5	May 2004	Extended May 2007 (1a) & September 2010 (2 & 2a)
Cefn Croes	Ceredigion	Wales	GE 1.5 se	1.5	39	58.5	June 2005	Largest onshore wind farm in Wales
Black Law	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	Siemens SWT-2.3	2.3	54	124	September 2005	Extended September 2006 (Phase 2)
Hadyard Hill	South Ayrshire	Scotland	Bonus B2300	2.5	52	120	March 2006
Farr	Highland	Scotland	Bonus B2300	2.3	40	92	May 2006
Slieve Rushen	Co Fermanagh	Northern Ireland	Vestas V90	3	18	54	April 2008	Largest onshore farm in Northern Ireland
Scout Moor	Lancashire	England	Nordex N80	2.5	26	65	September 2008	Largest onshore farm in England
Little Cheyne Court	Kent	England		2.3	26	59.8	November 2008
Whitelee	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	Siemens SWT-2.3	2.3	140	322	November 2008	Largest operational wind farm in the UK
Arecleoch	South Ayrshire	Scotland	Gamesa G87	2	60	120	June 2011	Construction began Oct 2008, completed on June 2011
Whitelee extension	East Renfrewshire	Scotland	Alstom ECO 100/ECO 74	3/1.6	69/6	217		Under construction, electricity generation expected 2012
Clyde	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	Siemens SWT-2.3	2.3	152	350		Construction began Jan 2010, completion expected 2012
Griffin	Perth & Kinross	Scotland	Siemens SWT-2.3	2.3	68	156.4		Construction began Aug 2010, turbines delivered March 2011
Fallago Rig	Scottish Borders	Scotland	Vestas V90	3	48	144		Construction began March 2011
Harestanes	Dumfries & Galloway	Scotland		3	71	213		Consent granted September 2007. Construction to start in 2012
Muaitheabhal	Western Isles	Scotland		3.6	33	118		Consent granted January 2010
Strathy Sound	Highland	Scotland		2.3	77	177		Planning application submitted June 2007
Dorenell	Moray	Scotland		3	59	177		Planning application submitted May 2008
Earlshaugh	Scottish Borders	Scotland		3	36	108		Planning application submitted June 2008
Carnedd Wen	Powys	Wales		2.5	65	195		Planning application submitted Jan 2009
Viking Wind Project	Shetland Islands	Scotland		3.6	127	457.2		Planning application submitted May 2009
Pen y Cymoedd	Neath Port Talbot & Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales		3	79	237		Planning application submitted Nov 2009
Kilgallioch (Arecleoch Phase 2)	Dumfries & Galloway	Scotland		3	132	396		Planning application submitted March 2010

Economics

Main article: Renewables Obligation

Through the Renewables Obligation, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MW·h of electricity they have purchased. The Energy Act 2008 introduced banded ROCs for different technologies from April 2009. Onshore wind receives 1 ROC per MW·h, however following the Renewables Obligation Banding Review in 2009 offshore wind now receives 2 ROCs to reflect its higher costs of generation. Wind energy receives approximately 40% of the total revenue generated by the RO. The ROCs are the principal form of support for UK wind power, providing over half of the revenue from wind generation.

A 2004 study by the Royal Academy of Engineering found that wind power cost 5.4 pence per kW·h for onshore installations and 7.2 pence per kW·h for offshore, compared to 2.2p/kW·h for gas and 2.3p/kW·h for nuclear. By 2011 onshore wind costs at 8.3/kW·h had fallen below new nuclear at 9.6p/kW·h, though it had been recognised that offshore wind costs at 16.9p/kW·h were significantly higher than early estimates mainly due to higher build and finance costs, according to a study by the engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald. Wind farms are made profitable by subsidies through Renewable Obligation Certificates which provide over half of wind farm revenue. The total annual cost of the Renewables Obligation topped £1 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach £5 billion by 2020, of which about 40% is for wind power. This cost is added to end-user electricity bills. Sir David King has warned that this could increase UK levels of fuel poverty.

Small wind systems under 50 kW previously received 2 ROCs, but are now eligible for support under the Feed In Tariff.

Variability and related issues

Wind capacity factor by season

Season	Daytime	Overnight	Overall
Winter	44%	36%	38%
Summer	31%	13%	20%

Wind-generated power is a variable resource, and the amount of electricity produced at any given point in time by a given plant will depend on wind speeds, air density, and turbine characteristics (among other factors). If wind speed is too low (less than about 2.5 m/s) then the wind turbines will not be able to make electricity, and if it is too high (more than about 25 m/s) the turbines will have to be shut down to avoid damage. If this happens during a winter cold snap, when winds are calm over large regions and electrical demand reaches its highest levels of the year, other power sources must have the capacity of meeting that entire demand. Three reports on the wind variability in the UK issued in 2009, generally agree that variability of the wind does not make the grid unmanageable; and the additional costs, which are modest, can be quantified. In the UK, demand for electricity is higher in winter than in summer, and so are wind speeds.

While the output from a single turbine can vary greatly and rapidly as local wind speeds vary, as more turbines are connected over larger and larger areas the average power output becomes less variable. In practice, the variations in thousands of wind turbines, spread out over several different sites and wind regimes, are smoothed, rather than intermittent. As the distance between sites increases, the correlation between wind speeds measured at those sites, decreases. This has been confirmed recently by studies conducted by Graham Sinden from Oxford University:

[Graham Sinden] analysed over 30 years of hourly wind speed data from 66 sites spread out over the United Kingdom. He found that the correlation coefficient of wind power fell from 0.6 at 200 km to 0.25 at 600 km separation (a perfect correlation would have a coefficient equal to 1.0.) There were no hours in the data set where wind speed was below the cut-in wind speed of a modern wind turbine throughout the United Kingdom, and low wind speed events affecting more than 90 per cent of the United Kingdom had an average recurrent rate of only one hour per year.

A 2011 report authored by wind farm critic Stuart Young and supported by the John Muir Trust, said that Scotland’s wind farms are only delivering a fraction of the power their builders claim. The report looked at wind farm output over a 26-month period between November 2008 to December 2010 using data from the industry’s Balancing Mechanism Reporting System. The report concluded that wind power "cannot be relied upon to provide significant levels of power" and "that there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the use of the energy source in future". There was an "angry response" to the report from the energy industry, and the body representing Scotland’s renewable energy refused to recognise the figures. Jenny Hogan, Director of Policy for Scottish Renewables, said: "We have no confidence in these unofficial figures", and added: "It could be argued the Trust is acting irresponsibly given their expertise lies in protecting our wild lands and yet they seem to be going to great lengths to undermine renewable energy which is widely recognised as one of the biggest solutions to tackling climate change". An independent study investigated the JMT report by cross-referencing Renewable Obligation Certificates over the same study period and concluded that wind farms performed much better due to data problems with the BMReports website upon which the JMT Report was based.

A Scottish government spokesman has said electricity generated by renewables accounted for 27% of Scotland's electricity use. On the night of 5–6 April, 2011, the wind in Scotland was high, it was raining heavily, which also created more hydroelectricity than normal. The grid became overloaded and a transmission fault in the system "meant the surplus energy could not be transferred to England and so generation had to be cut". Wind farms operators "were paid £900,000 by the National Grid to disconnect their turbines for one night because the electricity was not needed". A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), described this situation as "unusual" and said more electrical storage was needed, adding: "In future we need greater electrical energy storage facilities and greater interconnection with our EU neighbours so that excess energy supplies can be sold or bought where required."

There is some dispute over the necessary amount of reserve or backup required to support the large-scale use of wind energy due to the variable nature of its supply. In a 2008 submission to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, E.ON UK argued that it is necessary to have up to 80–90% backup. National Grid which has responsibility for balancing the grid reported in June 2009 that the electricity distribution grid could cope with on-off wind energy without spending a lot on backup, but only by rationing electricity at peak times using a so-called "smart grid", developing increased energy storage technology and increasing interconnection with the rest of Europe. In June 2011 several energy companies including Centrica told the government that 17 gas-fired plants costing £10 billion would be needed by 2020 to act as back-up generation for wind. However as they would be standing idle for much of the time they would require "capacity payments" to make the investment economic, on top of the subsidies already paid for wind.

See also

Related Lists

• Lists of offshore wind farms by country
• Lists of offshore wind farms by water area
• Lists of wind farms by country
• List of power stations in Scotland#Wind power
• List of wind turbine manufacturers

Related UK pages

• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
• Energy policy of the United Kingdom
• Green electricity in the United Kingdom
• Renewable energy in Scotland
• Wind power in Scotland
• Wind turbines (UK domestic)

Developers of UK wind

• Vattenfall
• Baywind Energy Co-operative
• Centrica
• DONG Energy
• Ecotricity
• EDF
• Good Energy
• npower UK
• Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative
• REG WindPower

Other related

• Environmental impact of wind power
• Friends of the Earth
• Relative cost of electricity generated by different sources
• Renewable Electricity and the Grid
• Renewable energy in the European Union
• United Kingdom National Renewable Energy Action Plan

External links

• 4C Offshore's Wind Farm Map and Database containing all UK offshore wind farms.
• COWRIE Collaborative offshore wind research into the environment
• UK wind farm performance 2002–2009
• The Renewable Energy Centre Wind Power in the UK.
• yes 2 wind UK wind farm supporters organisation
• Windfarm Action Group UK wind farm critics organisation
• A Sea Change: The Wind Farm Revolution
• Grants for wind power/turbines
• The Crown Estate Invests in 25 GW of Offshore Wind Power
• UK plans big wind power expansion
• UK Group Plans to Cut the Costs of Offshore Wind
• LORC Offshore Renewables Map for UK
• Electricity generation in the UK by type. Near live Java chart, 5 minute resolution