Wind Power Update in England -- And, Yes, a Connection to the Bakken

Updates

November 27, 2013: the Atlantic Array is scuttled; it was to have been the world's largest; west coast of England. Would have provided enough electricity for 2.5 million homes (compare to half million for the London Array).

July 4, 2013: the world's largest off-shore wind farm, The London Array, is up and running.

The fleet of 175 wind turbines stationed in the salty waters of the outer Thames estuary, where the river Thames empties into the North Sea, boasts a nameplate capacity of 630 megawatts, which is enough to power nearly half a million homes.

Previously, the world’s largest offshore wind farm was the 500 MW Greater Gabbard wind power facility off the coast of East Anglia.

The UK currently boasts more than 3.6 gigawatts of total offshore wind power capacity, which is forecast to more than quintuple in size by 2020.

Be sure to put this story into perspective.  We'll see if the Brits follow through on increasing the number of off-shore wind farms at the huge expense they incur.

Original Post 

First electricity produced by the London Array. First phase should be completed by end of 2012; 151 of planned 175 turbines have been constructed. Phase II (another 166 turbines) has not yet been approved. The risk of Phase II to the red throated diver (a duck) is holding up the approval. October 29, 2012 (first link); October 26, 2012 (second link).

The London Array is almost ready to provide electricity to citizens in southwest England.

When the first phase of the London Array is complete by the end of this year, it will generate 630 megawatts of electricity – enough power for more than 470,000 homes, or two thirds of the homes in Kent. 

Onshore wind farms, heavily criticised for their visual impact on the landscape, have generated a great deal of vocal opposition in recent years. In 2010 32 out of 66 applications for onshore wind farms were rejected. Offshore wind power, however, is expanding rapidly. Britain’s first offshore wind farm, near Blyth in Northumberland, opened in 2000, and since then another 14 farms (about 570 turbines and counting) have been built around the country, including three others in the Thames Estuary between the Kent and Essex coasts. Another six are under construction; a further seven have planning approval.

The linked article was published in the (London) Telegraph on July 28, 2012.

Now this, posted on the internet at the Oil Drum on September 9, 2012.

On occasion, the British Government goes through an internal shake-up that leads to various pundits trying to explain to us lesser mortals what it all means. Thus, with changes in the Ministers who work in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, there is a suggestion that the UK is pulling back from their commitment to wind energy, and instead beginning to look more seriously at shale gas supplies.

The UK is not unique. The success of the American development of long horizontal well drilling, with follow-on multiple fracture of the shale beds to release gas at economic volumes into the well, has caught the world’s attention, and with it a desire to emulate that success. Though it should be said that the American success comes in part with the volume of the release in supply and the consequent fall induced in the price of natural gas. That, in turn, is providing a less well-recognized boost to the US economy, through lower energy costs.

This sentence: The success of the American development of long horizontal well drilling, with follow-on multiple fracture of the shale beds to release gas at economic volumes into the well, has caught the world’s attention, and with it a desire to emulate that success -- that's the link to the Bakken.

Now, back to England. This was posted at Mail Online back in May, 2011.

Cash-strapped families face a stinging 50 per cent rise in their gas and electricity bills in the next four years, analysts warned last night. 

The hike in fuel bills is expected as Britain becomes more reliant on imported gas. 

It will also be needed to pay for the new generation of nuclear power stations, the upgrading of the national grid, and the creation of thousands of wind turbines to meet Europe’s tough climate change targets.

After the Japanese nuclear disaster, some countries are re-thinking nuclear. It will be interesting to check back on England's energy program during the next two years.