The Wind Power Will Represent An Enormous Role

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

It is essential for installation that three key components are taken into consideration. Firstly, there needs to be enough wind to keep the turbines turning to generate the electricity. Secondly, wind farms need advanced and specific technology. Moreover, the government should "create the environment that encourages growth". [2] 

October 2008 is very foremost in the calendar for installation of offshore wind farms since this is the time when the United Kingdom became the world leader of offshore wind powers and this is due to overtaking Denmark. [3] 

At the end of March, there were installed 568 offshore wind turbines in the UK waters with total capacity of 1858 megawatts (MW), and 665 turbines in construction with total capacity of 2359 MW. By the end of 2012, UK will have over 3 GW of offshore installed. By 2020 18 GW of offshore wind farms will be added. This is really important in today's world because the wind offers a great opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions due to low carbon energy. [4] 

An offshore wind farm technology is similar to that one on the land, however there is the difference between them that offshore wind farms are located on the sea bed. Indeed, part of offshore wind farms (turbines) is connected with onshore network as it is seen on the Fig.3.

The installation programme of the offshore wind farms need to take into account the few important points that could help in the maintenance of them. Firstly, the location in shallow waters near to the coast are more practicable and cheaper. Possible locations for offshore wind farms are also "determined by technical considerations, such as average wind speed and electricity demand". Furthermore, it is considerable that turbines are located on the large area on the sea bed (500m apart each other). The size of the turbines used for offshore wind farms are greater than those installed on the land

Round 1 project took place in 2000 when 18 projects with a combined capacity of 1.5 GW were awarded. All of the Round 1 projects, except Beautrice project, were close to the shoreline and in shallow water to minimize costs and maximise access. The final project, Teeside is awaiting construction. Round 2 project took place in 2003. The projects, learned after the difficulty in getting planning during Round 1, aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. For larger scale development three area have been chosen: Liverpool Bay, the Thames Estuary and the Wash ( North Sea). Offshore wind farms installed on the Project 2 "will be larger in scale and will extend beyond territorial waters". Fifteen projects were awarded at the end of 2003 with total capacity of 7.2 GW. The largest contains 1.2 GW capacity and is named Triton Knoll. [5] There are still five offshore wind farms in construction. Round 3 was announced in 2010. It is designed to create up to 25 GW of capacity by 2020, enough electricity to supply 25 million homes. Installing new wind farms the government is aware of the environmental impact so due to this a key aim is to protect marine wildlife. [6] 

Kentish Flats offshore wind farm is located off the north coast of Kent, south-east England. It is located in shallow waters, about 8-9km from Whitstable and Herne Bay. It consists of 30 3-megawatt turbines. This was installed in 2005 as the first project of the Round 1. The next offshore wind farm is Scarweather Sands which it has not yet been constructed. It is going to be located off the south Wales coast, in Swansea Bay- 6-9 km from the shoreline. It will consist of 30 3.6 megawatt turbines. Robin Rigg is an example of the offshore wind farm which is going to be located off the south-west coast of Scotland in the Solway Firth. The wind farm will be made up of two Round 1 schemes which have been incorporated into a single development, so will consist of 60 turbines and will be one of the largest offshore wind farms. [7] The world's biggest offshore wind farm could be built off the northern Scottish coast, with capacity to power 40 per cent of Scottish houses. It would have 339 turbines covering 300 square kilometres. This is going to be installed as a Round 3 project. [8] 

Installing offshore wind farms is a very great development since it is providing energy without compromising the ability for future generations. Wind power stations in the United Kingdom have been building many years and currently are on the top of other countries. Wind energy has been used for pumping water and milling grain for hundreds of years. More recently, it is also used to generate electricity for homes. Developing countries such as UK can take advantage of using wind power. Wind power has got many advantages such as low cost (after installation). Secondly, wind power is clean- there is no pollution or carbon dioxide released. Furthermore, wind is renewable and sustainable resource, it means that we can use it at the big scale today and there will be still available for future. Wind turbines are self-sufficient and what is also vital they create additional beautiful additions to landscape. Finally, we should think what will happen with our generation when fuel will end up? Wind power reduces the risk on unstable oil-dependent world.