zondag 22 februari 2009

Blown away


In a period of 14 days the largest energy groups of Britain will submit bids to build a lot of giant wind farms off the coast of the UK. The cost of this project is estimated to be more than £30bn. But the groups have little confidence that this project will become reality because there aren’t enough public subsidies at the moment.

The government has set ambitious renewable energy targets. To achieve these targets it’s necessary to build a lot of offshore wind farms.

Next month is the last chance for the energy companies to bid in the third round of licensing for offshore wind. The government hopes that this project will host more than enough power to supply London.

But it’s not that easy to build these kinds of farms. The running projects are already running into problems. E.ON, a developer of London Array offshore project admitted last month that it’s not going well with the economics of the projects. The energy group will decide soon if they will continue with the project or not.

Offshore wind farms are very expensive investments. This is the first time that farms with this scale will be built. That’s just why these projects are so risky, there is a lot of capital needed. Elsewhere in Europe developers are guaranteed a certain price for the sold electricity, but not in Britain, so it’s not a surprise that a lot of projects are put on hold or are being cancelled.

It’s not easy for these energy companies and developers, but they don’t give up all hope. They hope that the economical situation will improve soon so that it will be a little easier to invest.


I think that it’s very important that the people and the governments show more interest for these projects. It’s a good way to deliver power on a less polluting way, and it helps to save our world. If we can use more wind energy, there will be less pollution in the world. I also know that it’s a huge cost, but I think that these investments are worth it. I also think that we must continue with research for green energy methods. The big advantage of wind energy is that it is always available.


Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/15/wind-energy-business

Kevin De Pauw

4 opmerkingen:

  1. I think that building these wind farms is a good initiative by the government. Because the wind is free and with modern technology it can be captured efficiently. Once the wind turbine is built the energy it produces does not cause green house gases or other pollutants. So it's very possitive for our planet earth.

    Dominique van Huffel

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  2. I hope that this project will become reality, because it is a very good plan to handle a part of the environmental problems. It would be great if such a big city as London would be supplied by green, clean energy. Wind farms are really a good solution, they are less polluting and there will be always wind. On the other hand, I think that there will be a disadvantage too. The wind farms will have to be very big to supply London, so they will take a lot of space. Nevertheless i think that there are more advantages than disadvantages.

    Robby Lampens

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  3. Deze reactie is verwijderd door de auteur.

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  4. thank you robby and Dominique for your fine contribution to this blog.

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