Britain is running out of space for offshore wind farms, the boss of GB Energy has warned, jeopardising Ed Miliband’s Net Zero renewables drive, with floating turbines cost four times as much. The Telegraph has more.
Dan McGrail, Interim Chief Executive of the taxpayer-backed quango set up by the Energy Secretary, said UK waters are becoming too crowded for traditional turbines built in shallower seas.
As a result, he said officials must spend billions of pounds on new floating wind farms if it is to have any hope of hitting Net Zero by 2050.
Unlike fixed-bottom turbines, which can only be deployed in water less than 60-70 metres deep, floating alternatives can be tethered to the bottom of the seabed by cables.
This makes them the only real option for Mr Miliband as he races to build up to 10,000 new wind turbines by 2050.
“We know by 2030 that pretty much every offshore wind farm in the UK is going to have to be in water which is deeper than 80 metres,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Now that’s quite a technical point, but basically what it means is that those wind farms are going to have to float, which is an area of investment that is, at the moment, quite challenging.
“There’s a significant amount of private sector capital deployed, but it’s slowing down in its progress, so we’re going to look to come in at that riskier stage of projects in their development phase.”
The prospect of more state-backed investment in offshore wind will inevitably be felt by consumers, as the industry is reliant on subsidies paid for by households in the form of levies.
Such levies have so far supported the installation of 2,824 wind turbines in 44 wind farms around the UK’s coasts, according to trade body RenewableUK.
Mr McGrail now hopes these will be complemented by thousands of more floating turbines, some up to 900ft high.
However, cost remains a barrier, as they are up to four times more expensive than traditional fixed-bottom turbines.
This is where GB Energy’s £8 billion funding pot can help, he said.
Worth reading in full.
See Related Article Below
Miliband plots garden wind farm revolution
Energy Secretary aims to relax planning rules on turbines on residential properties
JONATHAN LEAKE
Ed Miliband has unveiled plans to make it easier for homeowners to install wind turbines in their gardens as part of a mass expansion of green power.
The Energy Secretary has announced a consultation on relaxing planning rules governing the construction of turbines on residential and commercial properties.
The aim is to make it easier for farmers, people living in semi-detached houses and business owners to install the machines on their land.
Garden or rooftop wind turbines can help homeowners and small businesses cut their power bills by generating electricity for direct consumption. Excess power can be used to charge batteries or be sold to the grid.
However, a surge in unrestricted development of the devices could prove a flash point in local communities.
Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy spokesman, also accused the Mr Miliband of “trying to turn the nation’s suburbs into a giant wind farm”.
Details of the consultation emerged in Mr Miliband’s new onshore wind strategy, published on Friday, which sets out plans to double onshore wind generation by 2030. Boosting “small scale” wind power is at the heart of his plans.
The proposals were welcomed by environmental campaigners who said they would improve energy security and create jobs.
However, wildlife charities raised concerns that Labour’s development push could endanger habitats.
Under current regulations, only owners of detached homes can install a turbine on their property without seeking planning permission.
But Mr Miliband wants to relax the rules to allow property owners to be able to install the machines under so-called permitted development rights, meaning they would no longer have to seek formal planning permission.
The Energy Secretary said: “Onshore wind will play a critical role in boosting our energy independence with clean power by 2030.
“Every turbine we build helps protect families, businesses and the public finances from future fossil fuel shocks … As part of this, we will consult on how permitted development rights can support the rollout of small-scale onshore wind.”
The proposals would allow millions more homeowners to install wind turbines without seeking permission. Only 23pc of UK homes are detached whereas about 55pc are semi-detached or terraced.
The Telegraph: continue reading
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Miliband to Cover Britain’s Lakes in Floating Solar Panels
WILL JONES
Lakes and reservoirs will be covered with solar panels under Ed Miliband’s plans to quadruple the use of the technology in Britain. The Telegraph has the story.
Mr Miliband is hoping to make it more difficult for locals to object to bodies of water being covered in the panels and to the erection of telegraph poles in rural areas.
The plans are part of the Government’s new “solar roadmap”, under which an area more than three times the size of Birmingham will be covered in solar panels in the next five years.
Ministers believe the strategy will mean the equivalent of seven million more homes are powered by solar electricity by the end of the decade, and claim it will cut energy bills by £500 a year.
The Conservatives called the plans “mad” and said they were “exactly what we have been warning of all along”.
The plans include new “canopy” solar panels to be built over public car parks, and more farmland to be used for generating electricity.
Renters could also be able to install plug-in panels on balconies or rooftops, allowing them to save money on energy bills for the first time, after Mr Miliband launched a safety review.
Mr Miliband is concerned that the planning process is a “burden” to landowners hoping to cover lakes with solar panels, and is exploring “levers” that would make them harder to oppose.
The Government hopes that by 2030, an estimated 0.4% of the total land area of the UK will be covered in the panels, up from 0.1%.
That would equate to 376 square miles, or more than three times the size of Birmingham. …
The plans are likely to be controversial with countryside campaigners, who have complained that solar panels “dramatically alter” views of rural areas.
Worth reading in full.
The Daily Sceptic: continue reading
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