Business secretary John Hutton reveals plans for a wind powered Britain by 2020
Wind power has been propelled onto centre stage by Britain's ambitious plans, unveiled this month. Business Secretary John Hutton has announced plans for 7,000 new offshore wind turbines to be built by 2020. Hutton predicts these new wind farms to produce 33 GW of wind-driven energy, enough to power all homes in the UK.
The dominance of offshore wind power makes sense for the UK, harnessing its natural potential as an island nation. The new plan will ultimately change Britain's coastline, with a turbine being built for every half mile of coastline. However, Hutton argues that there is little other choice to be made in the face of the climate change crisis.
Although offshore wind farms are more expensive to build and maintain than those which have previously been built closer to the shore, their increased distance from land means they can harvest a lot more wind. Plus, the further they are from the coast the less of a visual impact they make on the natural environment.
There are also environmental concerns when considering the wildlife at risk from the construction of these new structures. However, an eight year study into the environmental impact of the world's two largest offshore wind farms, Horns Rev and Nysted, published in Denmark last year, quell these fears, reporting that wildlife is rarely disrupted.
Cited as a "wind energy revolution" by Greenpeace executive director John Sauven, these new plans place the UK in a leading position when it comes to championing the importance of wind power in efforts to switch to renewable energy resources. However, this reliance on wind power could prove to be a little over-ambitious when considering those days when the wind does not blow. Responding to these concerns, Hutton recognizes the need to depend on other energy sources , including nuclear power.
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