The building of UK Wind begins UK Offshore Wind 2004

One year on from the publication of the Government’s bold vision in the Energy White Paper new figures released today by the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) show that the UK wind industry is poised for major expansion. Projects totaling over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity, representing an investment of some 1 billion pounds, will be built over the next two years. This will take the total installed capacity in the UK to well over 1,500 MW by the end of 2005, generating enough electricity from the power of the wind to meet the needs of almost one million UK homes.

A survey carried out by BWEA shows that 22 new wind projects are due to be built this year, representing some 474 MW of new wind capacity, over four times the total installed last year. The list of new build includes 21 developments onshore and a new offshore wind farm at Scroby Sands, the UK’s second large-scale development at sea, off the coast of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. BWEA also undertook a survey of five major developers establishing their predictions for build in 2005. The results indicate further growth of the industry next year with a predicted 560 MW of projects being built onshore and offshore in 2005, taking new build over the next two years to over a gigawatt (GW) with the wind industry supplying 1.3% of total UK electricity needs.

Marcus Rand, Chief Executive of BWEA, said: “These figures are really encouraging as they show at long last that we have now entered the phase of delivery. The next two years will be critical for our industry. We must build up a significant head of steam so that we can deliver the build rates required to hit our national renewable targets and help in the fight to combat climate change. These figures indicate that significant momentum is building and the 10% target is within reach”. UK Energy Minister Stephen Timms commented: “Wind energy will be the key contributor in helping us meet our national renewable targets. Today's news is a welcome boost and provides further confidence that the UK will be at the forefront of developing wind energy over the next few years”. He went on to say: “the UK wind industry has long been viewed as one of the most significant markets for wind power in the world. Today’s figures are the start of that potential being realised and will put the industry well on the way to meeting widely-held expectations that almost three-quarters of the 10% target for renewables will come from wind power.