Some Offshore Wind Farms Operating Far Below Capacity
With the recent increase in the number of offshore wind farms off the coast in the UK you’d have thought the electricity being produced would start to make an impact but a new study suggests they are producing a lot less than anticipated.
A new study into offshore wind farm companies suggests that even the most efficient are only producing electricity from this renewable source at just 50% of capacity and the worst offenders based in Northumberland are just operating at 7.9% of capacity.
This new insight into this massive investment into renewable energy may question the government’s strategy for the UK alternative fuel industry and perhaps with all the subsidies available and the immense pressure to get this industry going has actually had many wind farms built in the wrong places with the strength of the wind in these areas simply unsuitable for the purpose in which they are built.
The data has been gathered by lobby group Clowd (Campaign to Limit Onshore Wind Development) by using information directly from the industry regulator ofgem. Clowd are for the development of renewable energy sources but not at any cost and this new information suggests that they may have a valid argument and the government strategy and policies for developing wind farms at almost any cost will need to be revisited.
The original article appeared in the Sunday Times and is subject to a potential complaint to the press complaints commission because of the way it was reported.
All the data used in the report is available at the ofgem website under the renewables and CHP section and the report was developed by Allan Tubb who is a former power engineer.
The UK currently has 262 wind farms sites with over 2,700 wind turbines in operation and are mainly developed through the renewable obligation subsidy system where consumers would pay around twice as much for energy from wind farms than traditional sources. Plans are in place to see this increase to over 7,000 wind turbines in an effort to meet various obligations to increase the amount of energy produced from green renewable energy sources and cut CO2 emissions by 2020.
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