Wind power is now the world’s fastest growing renewable energy type and Groundsure house a wealth of data on existing, approved and proposed wind farms as well as other energy types.
Did you know that a single 2.5MW wind turbine can generate enough electricity to meet the annual needs of over 1,400 households, make 200 million cups of tea or run the average computer for over 2,000 years?1
Whilst wind power has been harnessed by local communities for some time, it is now the world’s fastest growing renewable energy type – driven by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and secure home-grown energy supplies1. There are around 1,300 operational and approved wind farms in the UK and Location Intelligence experts Groundsure have estimated that approximately 22% of the UK falls within 5km of one of these.
Traditionally, wind turbines are seen onshore; however due to increased energy demands and political expediency, are becoming more and more common offshore. The Rampion wind farm, named after the county flower of Sussex, is one of these. A 400MW offshore wind farm located off the Sussex coast will supply the equivalent of up to 290,000 homes each year in the lifetime of the project. That’s the equivalent of more than 4 in every 10 homes in Sussex2.
The £1.3 billion Rampion project is set to be one of the largest offshore wind farms ever to have been built in the UK, comprising 116 85m tall turbines constructed within a 72km2 area, with the closest turbine approximately 8 miles off the Sussex coast as well as around 17 miles of buried onshore cable and a new substation at Bolney.
The turbines will be tall but slender structures placed at least 600m apart and in good weather conditions these will be visible on the horizon to the naked eye. The turbines will be visible from different vantage points between Worthing and Beachy Head.
Why?
In 2009 a new Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/29/EC) was implemented and resulted in a mandatory target for the UK to produce 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 20203. Offshore wind power represents one the most proven renewable energy technologies which can be deployed at a sufficiently large scale to achieve the UK’s target. Offshore sites allow projects of a scale comparable to many conventional power stations and with an abundance of coastline and Europe’s greatest wind resource4, the UK is uniquely placed to harvest offshore wind energy.
Location Intelligence experts Groundsure house a wealth of data on existing, approved and proposed wind farms as well as other energy types. For further information please contact Groundsure on 08444 159 000 or email info@groundsure.com
1. http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/
2. https://www.eonenergy.com/About-eon/our-company/generation/planning-for-the-future/wind/offshore/rampion-offshore-wind-farm/benefits/energy-and-climate-change
3. Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK Renewable Energy Roadmap, 2011
4. Department of Trade and Industry, the UK wind resource, Wind Energy Fact Sheet 8
5. https://www.eonenergy.com/About-eon/our-company/generation/planning-for-the-future/wind/offshore/rampion-offshore-wind-farm/building-rampion-offshore/construction-timetable
This article was submitted to be published by Groundsure as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
