July 2003

wind turbines at sea

This wind farm won't harm the surf. The waves at Porthcawl are powerful - they have travelled across the Atlantic. They also have a long average wavelength which means that they are physically big. To absorb or diffract any noticeable amount of their energy would take an enormous obstruction. The wind farm is simply not big enough to have a significant effect on the power of the waves. Even with the biggest of the foundations (concrete gravity foundations which use blocks around 3m high) the waves simply won't 'notice' that there is an obstruction. The turbines are so widely spaced (each one at least a third of a mile apart) that from the waves point of view over 98 % of the wind farm is just open sea!

Porthcawl is a significant surfing location and an important part of the UK surf scene and industry. The wind farm at Scarweather Sands will in no way undermine this. In fact it is part of an important shift to clean energy in the UK that will help tackle climate change (that threatens all our beaches) and marine pollution - so it is good for water users and the environment.

wind turbines at sea

The government has given the go-ahead this week for an ambitious programme of offshore wind farms to be developed around the UK coastline. Under plans announced by the Secretary for State and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, 1 in 6 households will be powered by energy harnessed from wind power by 2010. That's equivalent to every home in the south-east of England.

Sellafield nuclear plant