http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1219-07.htm
Published on Friday,
December 19, 2003 by the New York Times
British Plan Major 'Wind Farm' to Generate
Power Along Coasts
by Amy Taxin
LONDON, Dec. 18 - Energy companies plan to erect more than 1,000
turbines off England's coast in a $12.4 billion project to build
the largest source of wind energy.
The wind farms, which
received preliminary approval on Thursday,
would generate as much as seven gigawatts of electricity - enough
to supply four million households, or to meet 7 percent of Britain's
energy needs. Britain has pledged that 10 percent of its energy
will come from renewable resources by 2010.
The Crown Estate, which
controls British public lands, including
its seabeds, asked companies to submit bids for coastal wind farms
in July.
Royal Dutch/Shell,
Warwick Energy, Powergen and Total are among
companies that won leasing rights of up to 50 years for the project,
which involves 15 sites and is expected to start generating
electricity in 2007.
The project is vast.
Groups of hundreds of turbines will be
installed in the shallow waters of the Thames Estuary, in the
East Coast area known as the Greater Wash, and off the northwest
coast of England.
"This is a massive
development for our industry," said
Marcus Rand, chief executive of the British Wind Energy
Association. "This puts the United Kingdom in the fast
lane to becoming a world leader in offshore power generation."
Before they can start
building, energy companies need clearance
from the public and the government, including environmental
regulators. The turbines will be visible from the shore only
on very clear days, the companies said, so that public outcry,
at least about the view, is expected to be minimal.
The project's biggest
obstacle may come in the form of a small
waterfowl related to the American loon, the red-throated diver,
which feeds in and around some of the sites. The Royal Society
for the Preservation of Birds issued a cautionary statement on
Thursday, asking the government to make sure the wind farms
do not pose a "significant threat to birds."
Little definitive research
has been done on the effect
of offshore wind farms on the bird population.
"We're in a sort
of Catch-22, because we have to prove
that this project is not a danger to birds" but there
is no project of its size to compare it to, said Peter
Crone, a director of Farm Energy, a renewable energy
specialist that is one of the winning bidders.
Of course, birds have
died after colliding with turbines.
"Clearly, birds have been flying into things for hundreds
of years, and that hasn't caused any extinctions," said
Dr. Mark Avery, director of conservation for the bird
preservation group, one of the strongest environmental
lobbies in Britain, one that supports renewable energy,
including the development of large, offshore wind farms.
But, he pointed out,
it might not make great sense
"to construct a large number of objects where large
numbers of birds are already flying."
Copyright 2003 The
New York Times Company
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