Wind Farms
| Author | William Webster |
| Pages | 89-102 |
Chapter 7
Wind Farms
INTRODUCTION
7.1 Wind farms consist of many individual wind turbines which are connected to the grid. A large wind farm may consist of a large number of individual wind turbines distributed over an extended area, although the land in between may still be used for agricultural or other purposes. They do, however, have a significant impact on the landscape and habitats as typically they need to be spread over more land than power stations and need to be built in rural areas. Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are very much higher. Small onshore wind farms can feed some energy into the grid or provide electric power to isolated off-grid locations.
7.2 The UK’s investment in offshore wind power has resulted in a rapid decrease in the usage of coal as an energy source over the past decade (now down to 1% from around 40% in 2010) as well as a drop in the usage of natural gas as an energy source in 2017.
7.3 The scope of this chapter is to take a general look at onshore and offshore wind farms. There is currently 6–7GW of offshore wind power generation in the UK with a further 4–5GW having secured development contracts (Europe remains the technology leader in installed offshore wind capacity although China, the top wind power producing country, is closing the gap). The picture is one of rapid growth. It said that by 2030, between one-fifth and one-third of the UK’s electricity could come from offshore wind power (Denmark is the country with the highest penetration of wind power, with 43% of its consumed electricity coming from wind in 2017). Thanks to plummeting costs, offshore wind has become an increasingly affordable source of clean energy. The position for the time being is, however, uncertain when it comes to onshore wind farm development in the UK.
90 Renewable Energy from Wind and Solar Power
WRITTEN MINISTERIAL STATEMENT APPLYING TO PROPOSED ONSHORE WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
7.4 The position is less clear in the case of onshore development as planning permission for onshore wind farms has been made more difficult to obtain since 2015. This is a direct consequence of the Written Ministerial Statement on localism and wind energy made by Greg Clarke, the then SoS for Communities and Local Government, on 18 June 2015 (WMS of 18 June 2015), in which he set out considerations to be applied to proposed onshore wind energy development so that local people have the final say on wind farm applications, fulfilling the commitment made in the Conservative election manifesto.
7.5 From this time it has become government policy that when determining planning applications for wind energy development involving one or more wind turbines, LPAs should only grant planning permission if the development site is in an area identified as suitable for wind energy development in a local or neighbourhood plan, and it can be demonstrated that the planning impacts identified by affected local communities have been fully addressed and therefore the proposal has their backing. In applying these new considerations, suitable areas for wind energy development will need to have been allocated clearly in a local or neighbourhood plan. Maps showing the wind resource as favourable to wind turbines, or similar, will not be sufficient. Whether a proposal has the backing of the affected local community is a planning judgment for the LPA.
REPORT OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE PUBLISHED ON
22 AUGUST 2019
7.6 The rationale for the 2015 statement was undoubtedly political, but the government is being strongly urged to support onshore wind installations consistently with its target to eliminate all emissions by 2050. The report of the Science and Technology Committee published on 22 August 2019 (Technologies for meeting the Clean Growth emissions reduction targets) identified ten areas where government policy that supports the implementation of low carbon technology has been delayed, cut back or undermined carbon reductions, including: (a) the closure of the FiT for low carbon power generation in 2019;
(b) the exclusion of onshore wind and large-scale solar power from the financial support mechanism available to other renewable power technologies since 2017 (which is soon to be lifted); and (c) the difficulty in obtaining planning permission for onshore wind farms since 2015.
REPOWERING EXISTING ONSHORE WIND TURBINES
7.7 The Committee also noted that planning consent and technological lifetimes meant that most existing onshore wind farms were expected to last 25 years before needing to be decommissioned, or ‘re-powered’ with upgraded equipment. The government, it suggests, should ensure that national policy facilitates the repowering of existing sites and that there needed to be a ‘clear’ permission framework for repowering existing onshore wind farms in place by the end of 2020.
HOW DO OFFSHORE AND ONSHORE WIND FARMS WORK?
7.8 Wind turbine blades rotate when hit by the wind. The blades of most turbines will start turning at wind speeds of 3–5m per second, which is a gentle breeze with a wind speed of 36–54kph or 10–15m per second producing maximum generation power (with typical fluctuations of up to 20% from hour to hour depending on the strength of the wind). The spinning motion turns a shaft in the nacelle which is the box-like structure at the top of a wind turbine. A generator built into the nacelle then converts the kinetic energy of the turning shaft into electricity. This energy is transferred to the gearbox which converts the slow speed of the spinning blades into higher-speed rotary motion turning the drive shaft quickly enough to power the electricity generator. Sensors in the wind turbine also allow it to turn and adjust its angle for optimum wind capture. All wind turbines, large or small, use the same mechanics to generate electricity. Almost all currently operating offshore wind farms have fixed foundations underwater and are installed in relatively shallow waters of up to 50–60m.
7.9 Most onshore wind turbines have a capacity of 2–3MW which can produce over 6 million kWh of electricity every year, which is enough to meet the electricity demand of around 1,500 average households. Up to a certain level the faster the wind blows, the more electricity is generated. When the wind speed doubles, up to eight times more electricity is generated. If the wind is too strong, turbines will shut themselves down to prevent being damaged. Wind farms are carefully planned to make sure they are in locations with a reliable amount of wind all year round, not least in coastal locations. The UK’s exposed position on the north-west corner of Europe makes it particularly windy, particularly in Scotland. As the wind blows...
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