10.12.2007

UK to announce massive wind farm expansion

John Hutton the UK’s energy secretary will tell an energy conference in Berlin today that the UK plans a major expansion in its wind power construction programme that will see around half the country’s power generated by wind power by 2020.

Most of the 7,000 new wind turbines will be located in offshore wind farms with the majority of the turbines being the larger models now beginning to come on stream with heights of over 250 metres to the tip of a vertical blade. (150 metre nacelle height?)

The massive programme is intended to take the power generated by wind from the current one gigawatt to 34 gigawatts. The UK currently has around 75 gigawatts of total power generation capability, including Coal, gas and nuclear power stations.

The UK is set to pass Denmark as the country with the most offshore wind power early next year.

The massive programme will of course provide substantial business for large cranes and access equipment in addition to the specialist lifting equipment that is increasingly used for the erection work.