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Stop and go for offshore wind projects
Work has ceased on a proposed offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, while the government has approved the building of an array off the south coast of England.
Centrica and DONG Energy have jointly decided to cease development of wind farms in the Irish Sea Zone through their 50/50 joint venture vehicle Celtic Array Limited. The companies cite challenging ground conditions that make the project economically unviable with current technology.
The joint venture was formed in March 2012 when DONG Energy bought a 50% share in Centrica's rights to develop wind farms in the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone.
However, the loss of this project must be seen in context, said the wind and marine energy trade association, RenewableUK’s Director of Offshore Renewables, Nick Medic: ‘Let’s not forget that one of the Celtic Array partners, DONG Energy, already has a healthy pipeline of seven offshore wind farms up and running in UK waters, another two under construction, a further project approved and three others in the final stages of gaining consent. Overall we still have over 37 GW of offshore wind capacity in the UK’s project pipeline.’
Meanwhile, E.ON has received consent from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, for its Rampion Offshore Wind Farm development. This decision means Rampion is set to become the first offshore wind farm off the south coast of England. Consent has been given for a wind farm of between 100 and 175 turbines to be installed around 13 to 20 km off the Sussex coast.
Construction is likely to begin within the next 12 months, with the first sections of the onshore cabling expected to commence spring in 2015, said E.ON.
Moving onshore, consent has been granted for two wind farms in Scotland: an extension to the existing Clyde wind farm, located to the east of Abington, South Lanarkshire, that will generate up to an additional 171 MW; and a rebuild of the 69 MW Dersalloch wind farm, in South Ayrshire.
News Item details
Journal title: Energy World
Countries: UK -
Subjects: Maritime engineering, Policy and Governance, Offshore wind power, Wind farms, Offshore wind farms, Onshore wind farms
