Rule Britannia
Rock on!
Size matters when it comes to renewable power
generation. (Or, perhaps better put, scale.) And the wind industry has seen
turbines grow to enormous proportions. Now there is a new king among the the
giant pinwheels: Named “The Britannia” (we guess “The
Titanic” was already taken), the turbine tower stands about 100 meters
tall with a 150-meter blade diameter, and it can kick out an impressive 7.5
megawatts. Clipper Windpower has sold its first Britannia, which it says is the world’s
largest wind turbine.
The sale was made to the British Crown Estate, the monarchy’s land-holdings portfolio that today is run as a statutory corporation. The prototype turbine will be used to tap Britain’s offshore wind in an attempt to meet Britain’s ambitious goal of generating 33 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2020. Currently, only 300 megawatts of wind capacity are operating in British waters.
If Clipper’s Britannia prototype proves popular, this partnership with Crown Estate could greatly boost England’s offshore wind capacity. Crown Estate is one of the largest property owners in the UK, and its holdings include over half of the nation’s foreshore and almost all of the territorial seabed, up to 12 nautical miles out. It also enjoys the right to lease seabed for the generation of renewable energy on the continental shelf within the Renewable Energy Zone, which extends out to approximately 200 nautical miles. When it comes to offshore wind power, it’s good to be the king.
We expect opposition to alternative energy sources to come from the usual suspects: fossil fuel companies, their investors and the claque who trudge the political world seeking a reactionary cause to justify their tawdry voice. Wind power has added another class. The phony enviro who defines ecology as including the view from their holiday cottage.
The sale was made to the British Crown Estate, the monarchy’s land-holdings portfolio that today is run as a statutory corporation. The prototype turbine will be used to tap Britain’s offshore wind in an attempt to meet Britain’s ambitious goal of generating 33 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2020. Currently, only 300 megawatts of wind capacity are operating in British waters.
If Clipper’s Britannia prototype proves popular, this partnership with Crown Estate could greatly boost England’s offshore wind capacity. Crown Estate is one of the largest property owners in the UK, and its holdings include over half of the nation’s foreshore and almost all of the territorial seabed, up to 12 nautical miles out. It also enjoys the right to lease seabed for the generation of renewable energy on the continental shelf within the Renewable Energy Zone, which extends out to approximately 200 nautical miles. When it comes to offshore wind power, it’s good to be the king.
We expect opposition to alternative energy sources to come from the usual suspects: fossil fuel companies, their investors and the claque who trudge the political world seeking a reactionary cause to justify their tawdry voice. Wind power has added another class. The phony enviro who defines ecology as including the view from their holiday cottage.
Posted: Mon - April 21, 2008 at 10:12 AM