Offshore wind farms given go-ahead in south west

Two South West offshore wind farms, with a total capacity of 2,400 MW have been awarded out of a total of nine nationally. Swindon based RWE npower renewables was the successful bidder for the 1500 MW capacity ‘Atlantic Array’ in the Bristol Channel Zone and West of Wight zone (Dorset coast) has been awarded to the Dutch energy company Eneco. These projects mark a change in the development of renewable energy in the UK and represent a great opportunity for the South West. When built, the wind farms will be responsible for a fifteen-fold increase in the region’s current renewable electricity capacity and are expected to add 25GW of renewable energy capacity to the grid by 2020. According to Claire Gibson, Director of Sustainable Resources at the South West RDA, when completed, these projects will provide electricity sufficient to meet the demand of over 1 million south west homes.

The South West is in a very strong position to reap the economic benefits of offshore renewables. Round 3 programme is expected to create up to 60,000 jobs in the UK and South west zones are expected to require capital investment in excess of £5 billion.

As part of the development process for both companies, the South West RDA, Regen SW and the Crown Estate will be holding an Offshore Wind Supply Chain conference in Bristol on 9th March.

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