offshore wind farm
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CT: The first offshore wind farm in the UK was a near-shore installation in Blyth harbour, north east England, which started operating in 2000.
Since then, the sector has developed with a series of licensing ‘Rounds’ co-ordinated by the Crown Estate, the landlord and owner of the seabed.
Round 1 was launched in 2001 and is now almost complete. It involved 18 sites in England and Wales, and added a potential capacity of 1.5GW.
In 2003, the much larger Round 2 was issued, located further offshore and in deeper waters. It was formed of the three strategic areas; Greater Wash, Greater Thames and Irish Sea and when complete Round 2 will add another 7GW of capacity.
Round 3, released in 2010 is the biggest so far and features nine zones across the UK. The largest, Dogger Bank, has the potential to generate up to 13GW of power and is one of the largest energy projects anywhere in the world. Round 3 is set to enter construction from 2014 onwards and has a total of around 31GW already leased to developers.
In addition to Rounds 1, 2 and 3, there is a further development programme in Scottish Territorial Waters overseen by the Scottish government providing the potential for 5GW across 6 sites. In Northern Ireland a 2012 leasing round is now underway.

S: http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/offshore-wind/ (last access: 28 February 2015)

N: 1. Did you know?

  • Year the 1st offshore wind farm was built in Europe: 1991.
  • Number of offshore wind farms now operating in Europe: 66.
  • Number of people now employed in the European offshore wind industry: 58,000.
  • World’s largest offshore wind farm: The London Array.
  • % of Denmark’s electricity supplied by wind power: 30%.

2. London Array is arguably the most widely known UK offshore wind farm. Its sheer scale and proximity to Greater London mean it’s often referred to by politicians and in the press.
Its 175 turbines are capable of generating enough energy to power nearly half a million UK homes and reduce harmful CO2 emissions by more than 900,000 tonnes a year. So it’s making a big difference to the environment as well as helping provide a reliable electricity supply to south east England.
The largest operational offshore wind farm in the world, London Array was opened by Prime Minister David Cameron in July 2013.

S: http://www.capewind.org/ (last access: 28 February 2015)

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CR: aeolian, offshore wind energy, wind energy, windmill park, wind turbine (1).