World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm Opens in UK

thanet
The UK has starting operating the Thanet wind farm, the largest offshore wind farm in the world -- for now.

The wind farm occupies 35 square miles off the coast of Kent and contains 100 turbines capable of generating 300 MW of power. This new project establishes two major milestones for Britain: the country is now generating more offshore wind power than the rest of the world combined and it's now caught up with other European countries like Germany by having generated 5 GW of power from renewable energy.

The Thanet wind farm will only hold the title of world's largest for a short time though. Two larger offshore wind farms are currently under construction -- the Greater Gabbard project with a 500 MW capacity and the London Array project with a 1 GW capacity -- but both of those will reside in the UK, meaning it will continue to be a world leader in offshore wind.

The UK has set a target of generating 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. These large projects should help them to get there.

via Guardian

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Makes U.S. look silly...
written by Teetor, September 25, 2010

We can't have off shore wind because it will ruin the view, but we have no problem with off shore drilling. Something smell fishy?

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written by Tiptheplanet, September 28, 2010

I like seeing how they compete with one another for the title "Biggest Wind Farm". The real winner is the world and renewable energy. It's also about time that the UK has done something like this. The UK has the largest wind energy resource of any country in Europe. The windiest areas are generally situated on the coast: the West Coast, in particular, experiences high wind speeds resulting from the strong winds coming over the Atlantic. Hills and mountaintops are also windy locations, as wind moves faster when forced over an obstacle. Wind speeds increase as height above ground-level increases: the wind speed at a height of 50m is over 75% faster than the wind speed at ground level. Wind turbines are therefore often mounted on tall towers.

Smart planning by the Brits
written by Global Energy, September 28, 2010

After years of trailing behind countries operating renewable energy plants finally Britain has stepped up to the plate. Hopefully their plans of generating 15 percent of the UK's energy from renewable sources by 2020 will be achieved thanks to wins power.

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written by Andy Rolfe, September 30, 2010

Since the UK is so densely populated, onshore windfarms are difficult to establish because of objections from residents and also many airports. With our comparatively long coastline, offshore is therefore the easier solution. With 2/3 of the world covered by the sea, these developments will hopefully show the massive potential of offshore windpower, with few reasons to object. This is the future!

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