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Permitting Request Submitted for 1000 MW Wind Farm June 8, 2005 London, England [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] London Array, the UK's flagship 1000 MW offshore wind farm has come a step closer to a building phase. CORE Limited, E.ON UK Renewables and Shell WindEnergy Limited have announced that their consortium, London Array Limited has submitted consents and planning applications for the London Array offshore wind farm project. "This project will supply the equivalent of a quarter of London's domestic load and will surely, once and for all, bury the myth that wind energy is insignificant." - Erik Kjaer Sorensen, Director of CORE If built, the wind farm could generate up to 1,000 MW of renewable electricity, enough for more than 750,000 homes - equivalent to a quarter of greater London homes. The wind farm will also avoid emissions of up to 1.9 million tons of carbon dioxide every year and could make up to 10 percent of the UK Government's 2010 renewables targets. "The London Array offshore wind farm, which when complete will be the largest wind farm anywhere in the world, represents a major step forward in harnessing the UK's massive wind resource and will contribute to the UK's efforts to avoid the worst effects of climate change," Stephen Tindale, Greenpeace Executive Director. London Array is the first of the Round 2 UK offshore wind farm projects, awarded an option for a lease by the Crown Estate in December 2003, to apply for consents. The applications come after an extensive consultation process as well as comprehensive technical and environmental studies. The full development, costing up to GBP 1.5 billion (USD$ 2.75 billion) will require up to 270 wind turbines to generate 1,000 MW and would connect into the National Grid's transmission system in Kent. The turbines would be located in the outer Thames Estuary, more than 20 kilometers offshore and roughly the same distance from the coasts of Essex and Kent. Due to the distance of the wind farm from the shore, there is expected to be little visual impact from the coastline. If consents are granted (by national and local government officials), the construction program would involve a build-up in as many as four phases. The first phase would be commissioned in 2008, and it is hoped that all phases would be complete by 2010/11. The consortium is hoping for consent to be granted in 2006 to achieve the proposed construction program. "It's only through building more powerful wind farm sites such as this that we'll be able to reach the Government's tough targets for renewable generation," Jason Scagell, Director of E.ON UK Renewables. Last year the company completed the construction of Scroby Sands, one of the UK's first commercial-sized offshore wind farm, off the coast of Great Yarmouth. "This project will supply the equivalent of a quarter of London's domestic load and will surely, once and for all, bury the myth that wind energy is insignificant," said Erik Kjaer Sorensen, Director of CORE. "Furthermore it is merely the first of a number of similar sized wind power schemes that will place the UK market at the forefront of offshore renewable energy development worldwide." http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=32968
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