Turbines off East Anglia coast could provide 25% of UK electricity
A quarter of Britain's electricity needs could be met by building wind turbines off the coast of East Anglia, according to a new report by a team of renowned energy experts. The vision is being backed by a group of companies - including power giant TXU - which have joined forces with Greenpeace to call for the plan to be realised.
The plan was set out today in a study by AEA Technology. The authors of the report - entitled Sea Wind East - found that a large scale East Anglian wind industry could create 60,000 jobs and attract investment of 20 billion pounds.
The Sea Wind East report will be launched today at an event in Great Yarmouth, where Greenpeace will begin a tour of the region to promote the plan. The environmental group is going on the road with a mobile cinema and a team of experts. They will be visiting sixteen towns in three weeks, telling local people how their region could become a world centre for clean energy.
Matthew Spencer of Greenpeace said: "This report nails the lie that renewable energy can't deliver on a large scale - just one technology in one region of Britain can deliver a quarter of our entire power needs. If implemented this plan would massively decrease energy pollution in the UK and make East Anglia a powerhouse of the global renewable energy industry."
The experts found that low tidal ranges, shallow water depths, high wind speeds and seabed conditions make East Anglia ideally suited for wind energy development on an industrial scale. The level of construction envisaged in the plan would see forty wind farms built between the Thames estuary and the Humber. AEA calculates that the amount of electricity generated by these power stations at sea would meet a quarter of Britain's needs. Fifteen thousand turbines covering 4000 square kilometres would create a capacity of 30,000MW - the equivalent of 30 conventional power stations.
Martin Stanley, Chair of TXU's Sustainability Forum and President of Trading and Production said: "This important report will do much to further discussion about the practical capabilities of offshore renewables. It outlines a challenging vision for all those involved in the energy industry and gives an idea just how much power renewables could provide in the future. The active involvement of local stakeholders is clearly going to be critically important. TXU Energy is very excited by the vision outlined in Sea Wind East, and it is committed to playing its part in increasing the amount of renewable power both off the East Anglian coast and elsewhere in the UK."
The plan is also supported by National Wind Power -the UK's leading wind energy developer. Managing Director Alan Moore said: "We intend to play an active part in realising the huge potential for offshore wind in this area. We commend this report to anyone who wants to understand the huge potential that offshore wind offers the UK. We're particularly pleased that this plan highlights the need for major reinforcement of the electricity grid to allow developers like us to bring the huge amounts of power to shore."
The authors predict the construction of forty power stations at sea could be completed by 2020. The government has so far pledged to generate only 10% of UK electricity from renewable energy by 2010 but is currently considering whether to set a new, higher target.
Matthew Spencer added: "We hear plenty of warm words from the government about offshore wind, but their ambition seems limited. Business is already looking at the practicalities of implementing this plan, but now we need to see Tony Blair setting high targets for renewable energy and getting behind the vision for East Anglia."
The report states that government must take a number of steps before the region will see the construction of the world's largest offshore wind development. They include the need to:
- Set a high national target for renewable energy for 2020 to create a driver for business planning & investment
- Take decisions now on how offshore wind energy should be brought into the national electricity grid
- Provide incentives for the private sector to make long term investments to large-scale offshore wind.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
Notes for editors:
1. The launch will be at noon today (Thursday July 25th) on the beach at Great Yarmouth between the Euston Road and Sandown Road car parks. To see a map, visit:
2. The Greenpeace East Anglia wind tour will be visiting 16 towns in 3 weeks: July 26th Chelmsford, July 27th Peterborough, July 28th Hunstanton, July 30th Kings Lynn, 1st Norwich, August 2nd Lowestoft, August 3rd Great Yarmouth, August 4th Cromer, August 7th Aldeburgh then Leiston, August 8th Colchester, August 9th Clacton, August 10th Southend, August 11th Felixstowe, August 12th Ipswich, August 14th Cambridge.
3. The report - Sea Wind East - can be read at www.greenpeace.org.uk/seawindeast.htm
