Britain is Running Out of Space for Offshore Wind, Warns GB Energy Boss
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.
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Brilliant. Just what we need.
Just drill some bloody shale gas wells and build a few power stations!
Isn’t there anyone anywhere in the public sector, who can understand the concept of a ‘Cost Benefit Analysis’..?
Is there anyone who understands the utter stupidity of renewables.
They probably cost too much to commission, or so they’ll say!
They can’t have something that will prove they are insane, and that the whole thing not only needs abandoning, but reversing what has been done – its just total and utter folly!
The Victorians had their follies, we have ours, the Victorian ones were quaint and interesting, ours are ugly, pointless, destructive and hideous blots on the landscape.
They’ll have got some highly paid consultants in to conduct a cost benefit analysis, however they will have started the conversation with ‘we want the result to be this, make up the report to fit’
When you have a narrative to support, its always best to write your conclusion first and then work back from that!
Mad Millibrain needs to understand that you can NEVER have enough turbines, as you can NEVER guarantee that the wind is blowing enough 24*7 to satisfy demand, even if you massively overbuild. 100% renewables will never, can never happen. It is pure myth.
And it will NEVER make our electricity bills cheaper which is based on evidence around the world where once they set out on the path of this lunacy costs stated to rise. In the US you have to go to state level to see it.
How long is a wind turbine’s operational lifespan? Perhaps the earliest ones are due to go soon? What happens once they’re decommissioned? Fully recyclable with nary a fuss, I bet.
Back in the real world, I bet a whole new one is built and the old one goes to landfill. Replacement courtesy of UK taxpayer?
what is the impact on marinelife, the ocean?
How do they impact the fishing industry.
What happens in high winds and seas?
what is the life span of these monstrosity and how will they be disposed of?
Net Zero will be a modern day South Sea Bubble, but perhaps much much bigger.
1 windmill and windspeed 0 = zero energy generated.
1,000,000 windmills and windspeed 0 also = zero energy generated.
We can conclude from this that windmills are not a reliable source of energy generation, and never will be, regardless of how many you build. Only a complete fool would think otherwise.
Just to continue your thinking…
1,000,000 windmills and high wind speed = vastly too much energy generated, wind mills have to be switched off…
A floating turbine will have an exposed cable dangling down to the sea bed, then connected to the main distributor to the mainland. All sounds a bit vulnerable to attack to me.
Which would make you think that getting involved in a conflict a long way away that has nothing to do with us was not a good idea.
If only the ‘officials’ actually had any of their own money to spend on this nonsense.