Planning permission has been given for what could become the world’s largest offshore wind farm on the Dogger Bank, off England’s east coast.
If fully constructed, the project will have up to 400 turbines with a total generation capacity of 2.4 GW. That’s enough to power 1.9 million households – more than Manchester and Birmingham combined.
So why now? And why so big? It seems the UK government is essentially taking a punt on the future of offshore wind. Investment in a more expensive renewable technology at an earlier stage means a premium is being paid in the hope it will kick-start a whole industry. This would in turn reduce costs, while generating low-carbon electricity out of sight.
Dogger Bank, located more than 80 miles off the UK's Yorkshire coast, is indeed far out of sight. It seems a good location for a wind farm. The region was an island during much of the last ice age and today it has shallow water, seabed conditions well-suited to the foundations of wind turbines and of course strong, consistent wind.
Its development nevertheless raises a number of technical and logistical challenges, notably linked to the influence of the weather on the maritime supply chain. No wind farm has yet been built that far from land. Furthermore, it still needs to secure contracts for government subsidies.
With fewer neighbors to annoy, offshore wind farms are generally less contested than their onshore equivalents. Offshore wind can have nevertheless a detrimental impact on the natural environment, like disturbance to the seabed by laying cables.
But it seems there could be an overall positive effect on marine wildlife as the “artificial reef effect” helps fish group together.
Photo: Dogger Bank, 80 miles off the UK's Yorkshire coast.
Article originally published on Science 2.0