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10 facts about UK offshore wind
1. 1,233 turbines
There are 538 installed offshore wind turbines in United Kingdom (UK) waters, totalling 1,708 megawatts (MW), and a further 695 turbines in construction, totalling 2,508 MW. The total number of operational and turbines in construction is 1,233. The average capacity of an offshore wind turbine is 3.17 MW. The trend is toward turbines with a bigger installed capacity: the average capacity of turbines in construction is 3.61 MW. Each installed turbine produces per year on average electricity which equals the annual consumption of 2,114 households.
2. 17% UK electricity by 2020
The latest study on deployment trends carried out by RenewableUK analysing the current pipeline of projects, established that within the next 5 years (by 2016) there will be 8 GW of capacity installed, with a total of 18 GW by 2020. In terms of contribution to net UK electricity production offshore wind supplies around 1.5% today, growing to between 7% and 8% in 2016 and to around 17% in 2020.
3. UK capacity equals the rest of the world
The UK is the world leader in offshore wind with as much capacity already installed as the rest of the world put together. Given the current construction and development pipeline, the UK’s sector lead is likely to continue until 2020. The nation with the most offshore wind farms after the UK is Denmark.
4. 36 wind projects totalling 9,016 MW
There are 15 operational wind farms in UK waters, with a further 7 in construction and 6 with planning consent. This is a total of 5,441 MW. Beyond this there are a further 8 projects, including extensions to existing wind farms and the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre Scotland adding to 3,575 MW. This represent a total project base of 9,016 MW
5. Another 40 GW with leases
Beyond the immediate pipeline of projects, there are close to 40 gigawatts (GW) of projects with leases and at various stages of pre-planning development, including extensions to current offshore wind farms, Scottish Territorial Waters projects, and the ‘Round 3’ developments.
6. Growth in industry jobs
The number of people working in the UK’s offshore sector has grown from 700 people in 2007, to around 3200 in 2011. The scenarios, completed this year by Cambridge Econometrics for RenewableUK, give three scenarios for employment growth in the offshore sector by 2020: 31GW creates 42,400 direct full time employees (FTEs) and 25,300 indirect FTEs; 23GW creates 29,700 direct FTEs and 17,500 indirect FTEs; and finally, 13GW projection creates 1,800 direct FTEs, and 6,400 indirect FTEs.
7. Notable projects
The first near shore project in UK waters was completed in 2001 in Blyth harbour, 10 miles from Newcastle, the city at the heart of the industrial revolution. The largest wind farm in operation in the UK (and worldwide) is Thanet at 300 MW, off the coast of Kent, and the largest in construction is London Array in the Thames Estuary, around 50 miles from London. When both phases of London Array are completed the capacity will stand at 1 GW.
8. Underwater construction depths
The development of the UK’s offshore wind farms has so far been conducted in water depths of up to 25 meters, with the exception of Beatrice, a wind farm consisting of 2 turbines, in 45 meters of water. The preferred construction method so far is a monopile driven into the seabed, on which a transition piece is mounted which connects to the turbine tower. The total weight of an offshore turbine is around 450 tonnes.
9. Financial support mechanisms
The current financial support for offshore wind projects is based on Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs). An offshore project sells the electricity it generates, and in addition receives 2 ROCs per each 1 MWh generated. The average value of ROCs is around £50, with the average value of 1 MWh around £47 (Sept. 2011).
10. A decade of offshore wind
RenewableUK has organised a yearly Offshore Wind Conference, starting from 2002. From an initial couple of hundred attendees, the conference has grown to become RenewableUK’s 2nd largest event with over 3,000 people in 2011 and a projected 5,000 visitors to Global Offshore 2012.
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