British Wind Energy

Wind power comes home to the UK

Wind power continues to lead the way as the success story of the new energy era. The real workhorse of renewable technologies, for the past quarter century forecasts of global installed wind capacity have been consistently exceeded, as governments, consumers and businesses alike switch on to the power of the wind.

Nowhere is the power of the wind blowing more strongly than in the UK, which once again has been ranked as the foremost market for wind power in the world. The country's wind resource, the strong offshore development regime and the market security afforded by the Renewables Obligation all combine to place the UK firmly at the forefront of this green industrial revolution, worth an annual £4.5bn in Europe alone.

For an industry that generates only 0.5 per cent of UK electricity supply and which until recently had an annual installation rate of a mere 50 megawatts (MW), this may seem to be a somewhat optimistic assessment. But the evidence to justify this is steadily mounting, not least with the 33 new wind projects which have been approved through the planning system in 2004 alone. Totalling over 800MW, and equating to an 83 per cent approval rate, this compares with a current total installed capacity of 885MW, meaning that in one year almost as much has been consented as was constructed during the industry's 13-year history

An additional 2600MW of projects previously consented, both on and offshore, are either under or awaiting construction, meaning that the UK wind industry has a total of 2.6GW of approved projects, representing some 2.5 per cent of UK electricity supply when built. Add to this the 5GW of projects that are currently progressing through planning and it becomes clear that the UK is indeed embracing the renewables revolution, led by the power of the wind.

Wind energy is a key component of the UK's strategy on climate change and creating the low-carbon economy of the future, as outlined in the government's Energy White Paper, published in February 2003. This identified wind energy from deployment both on and offshore as the most likely 'largest contributors to the renewables generation mix in 2010', so much so that wind is expected to meet some three-quarters of the target or 7-8 per cent of UK supply by 2010.

The result of a recent wind-industry survey conducted by the British Wind Energy Association seems to suggest that the sector is well on track to meet this expectation. Some 7500MW of new wind capacity, requiring £7bn of investment, is predicted to be in place by 2010. As BWEA commented: "We've got the resources and the skills; companies have the appetite to build and it appears that government has embraced the vision."

2010 and beyond
The momentum now witnessed in the UK wind sector is being played out against the backdrop of the Renewables Obligation. The requirement of the Obligation on electricity retailers to source increasing proportions of their supply from renewables is certainly proving a strong impetus, particularly seen in the wind sector, the most cost-competitive of the renewable technologies presently available.

The mathematics are simple: the Obligation is set for 4.9 per cent in 2004-5, while renewable generation currently accounts for only around 3 per cent of supply. The qualifying Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), awarded per megawatt hour of generation from eligible technologies, are consequently trading at almost double the base price of £31.39 per megawatt-hour, and utilities are developing their own green portfolios with wind as the technology of choice. Not only does this include long-established renewables players such as utilities ScottishPower, E.ON and npower, new entrants such as Centrica have also recognised which way the wind is blowing.

Originally set at 10 per cent of supply by 2010, the scope of the Obligation has now been extended to 15 per cent by 2015, with wind power again expected to be a key contributor. This is a challenge the UK wind industry will be only to happy to take up, building on the many strengths already displayed in the sector. One of the longest established wind-industry associations, BWEA, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. The continued high level of interest in the sector means that 330-company strong body has effectively tripled in size over the past five years and is now the largest renewables organisation in the UK. BWEA membership includes companies of every size, nationality and discipline, ranging from the obvious wind turbine and component manufacturers to electricity generators and suppliers, project developers and consultants, installation, operation and all associated services.

Sea changes for the UK
Much of the UK's unexploited wind resource lies offshore, theoretically estimated as being three times the UK's total energy demand. A lot of the excitement in the buoyant UK wind industry is therefore focused on the offshore arena, and with good reason. More than half of the banked total of megawatts ready for construction will be installed at locations at sea. The UK offshore wind sector has now grown from two experimental turbines off the coast of Northumberland to 360 consented turbines totalling over 1100 megawatts (MW).

It is now three years since the Crown Estate released 14 seabed sites around the coast of the UK for potential wind energy development and significant progress has been made in this first licensing round, with 12 sites having so far received the necessary consents, two of which have already started generating: 30 turbines with a total capacity of 60MW at North Hoyle off the coast of North Wales, the first of the large-scale offshore wind farms to be commissioned, and a further 30 turbines of the same capacity at the second, Scroby Sands, off the coast of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. Completion on two other sites is promised by 2005, Kentish Flats and Barrow. With further construction planned for 2006, sometime that year the UK should become the world's number one offshore wind generator.

While Round One promises a combined capacity of 1.5GW, there is even more to come from the second phase of development offshore. Described as one of the most ambitious offshore wind programmes in the world, Round Two, announced in December 2003, awarded 15 sites totalling 5.4-7.2GW awarded to ten companies or consortia. Round Two sites are larger than Round One sites and will utilise more powerful machines, at greater distances from shore. While each Round One site was awarded for a maximum of 30 turbines, there is no limit for Round Two, and some very large schemes have been awarded sites - two are 1GW or more in capacity, as big as nuclear power stations. The first turbines for these projects will not be built until 2007 at the earliest, with most construction planned for 2008-10. Once completed, projects in Round Two will provide power equivalent to 4 million homes or one in six UK households.

The UK is now well-positioned to take its rightful place in the European renewable energy league table. Much like Aesop's fabled tortoise, the UK's race to pre-eminence in Europe has been slow to start compared with the Danish, Spanish and German hares, but is now showing all the signs of making up for lost time with a vengeance.

Power for the future
Wind power may be big business, but the real reason behind the boom is its environmental credentials. 'Climate change is the most severe problem we are facing today - more serious even than the threat of terrorism' were the recent words of Sir David King, the UK government's Chief Scientific Advisor. The role of wind power in greening up electricity production combined with the increasing need for a secure and sustainable power portfolio is more than ample reason why wind power continues to be the world's fastest growing energy sector.

And there can be no doubt that wind energy is the generating technology of choice for the future energy portfolio. There is a long tradition of support for wind energy in the UK, with opinion poll after opinion poll showing consistently high levels in favour of the technology, with this support increasing once a project has been built and highest of all among the residents near wind farms; hence, 'Embrace the Revolution', a major new campaign by the British Wind Energy Association which gives these people a voice. Launched with the results of a new opinion poll, which shows that the majority of the population (74 per cent) agree that wind farms are necessary to help meet current and future energy needs in the UK -despite the vocal campaign against their expansion - Embrace the Revolution unites those in favour of wind energy and challenges the myths that wind farms are unpopular, noisy and a blot on the landscape.

Already over 10,000 names have signed up at www.embracewind.com, proof positive that the government has got it right on wind power and that the UK is truly embracing the renewables revolution - a message that the British Wind Energy Association will be spreading far and wide.

Marcus Rand is the Chief Executive of the British Wind Energy Association, the trade and professional body for the UK wind industry, now representing 330 companies active in the sector.