[News] from [guardian.co.uk]
[Environment > Wind power]
£75bn for UK's biggest offshore wind programme signals new era for renewables
Crown Estate has revealed successful bidders for nine windfarm sites expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs and help the UK meet clean energy and carbon emission targets
Alok Jha, green technology correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 January 2010 11.57 GMT Article history
The UK government announced a £75bn programme today to build thousands of offshore wind turbines that will kickstart the next phase of renewable power generation in Britain.
The Crown Estate revealed the successful bidders for at least 25GW of windfarms across nine zones in the seas around the UK.
The nine winning bidders are: Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd, SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd, the Forewind Consortium equally owned by each of SSE Renewables, RWE Npower Renewables, Statoil and Statkraft, Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, East Anglia Offshore Wind Ltd equally owned by Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft, Eon Climate and Renewables UK, Eneco New Energy, RWE Npower Renewables and Centrica Renewable Energy and involving RES Group.
The developments could create tens of thousands of new jobs, which will be crucial if the UK is to meet its targets for clean energy and carbon emission cuts.
Gordon Brown said: "This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity. The offshore wind industry is at the heart of the UK economy's shift to low carbon and could be worth £75bn and support up to 70,000 jobs by 2020."
The UK has the biggest wind resource in Europe – some estimates put the UK's share at one-third of the continent's total. Secretary of state for energy Ed Miliband said: "Today's news shows we're creating the right conditions for the energy industry to invest in harnessing it." Taking advantage of the country's potential wind power will be critical in meeting the targets set by government for the UK to meet 15% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
Round three will be the biggest wind programme announced by the Crown Estate so far and aims to accelerate the deployment of wind energy on a massive scale.
The nine sites in line for development include Dogger Bank, the Bristol Channel, the seas off Norfolk and the Firth of Forth. The proposed windfarms will be further away from the coast and in deeper waters than any existing offshore project, and therefore more challenging to build.
According to Greenpeace, Britain already leads the world in the deployment of offshore wind and has more projects installed, in planning or in construction than any other country. Almost 700MW of offshore turbines are already installed across nine projects, with around another 1.2GW under construction and a further 3.5GW in planning stages. By comparison, a large coal-fired power station generates about 1GW of electricity.
In advance of today's announcement, Greenpeace executive director, John Sauven, said: "Throughout its history Britain has shown the determination and ingenuity to tackle the great industrial challenges of each era. In the 21st century these qualities are being called on once again, to enable the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable sources of energy. Our country is home to some of the best engineers, mechanics and construction professionals in the world. Their expertise will be crucial if we are to harness the massive potential that new technologies like offshore wind have to offer."
The winning consortia will face several challenges, including a lack of offshore connections to the national electricity grid and limited capacity in the supply and installation chain for windfarms. "The scale of round three will require a dramatic increase in manufacturing capacity for offshore wind, such as turbines, foundations, offshore electrics and installation vessels," said the British Wind Energy Association. It estimates that more than 55,000 jobs could be created in the planning, construction and maintenance of the thousands of wind turbines that will be built in the next decade.
However, Britain currently has no commercial-scale wind turbine manufacturing plants, following the closure of the Vestas plant on the Isle of Wight last year.
Another issue is that existing subsidies for offshore wind are only guaranteed until 2014, but very few of the round three projects will have begun operating by then.
The winning developers
> Moray Firth Zone, Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd which is 75% owned by EDP Renovaveis and 25% owned by SeaEnergy Renewables – 1.3 GW
> Firth of Forth Zone, SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd equally owned by SSE Renewables and Fluor – 3.5 GW
> Dogger Bank Zone, the Forewind Consortium equally owned by each of SSE Renewables, RWE Npower Renewables, Statoil and Statkraft – 9 GW
> Hornsea Zone, Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, a consortium equally owned by Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures and involving Hochtief Construction – 4 GW
> Norfolk Bank Zone, East Anglia Offshore Wind Ltd equally owned by Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft – 7.2 GW
> Hastings Zone, Eon Climate and Renewables UK – 0.6 GW
> West of Isle of Wight Zone, Eneco New Energy – 0.9 GW
> Bristol Channel Zone, RWE Npower Renewables, the UK subsidiary of RWE Innogy – 1.5 GW
> Irish Sea Zone, Centrica Renewable Energy and involving RES Group – 4.2 GW
[Comment is free > Cif green]
Anti-whalers collide over tactics
I find it hard not to admire Sea Shepherd's bold activism, but a more moderate approach may well save more whales
Philip Hoare
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 January 2010 15.00 GMT Article
Last month in Hobart harbour I watched as Ady Gil, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's latest weapon in their justified war against Japanese whalers, readied itself for departure. The black-painted and futuristic trimaran – a former racing vessel donated by a wealthy supporter and resembling nothing so much as a watery version of the Batmobile – was about to do battle with a whaling fleet that persistently breaches Australian waters to hunt for whales under the guise of "scientific research".
As I looked on from the quayside, the dreadlocked and tattooed crew – who looked like they might have been more at home at Glastonbury than on a seagoing vessel – got tooled up for the fight. It occurred to me, even then, that for all its apparent power, their craft would prove flimsy in the face of ocean waves – let alone Japanese resistance. Nevertheless, this week, they met their foe in the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean – and suffered a collision, the rights and wrongs of which are still unclear.
Sea Shepherd's founder, Paul Watson – a modern Ahab if there ever was one – claimed the Japanese ship deliberately rammed the Ady Gil. However, one very experienced whale man of my acquaintance (a man who's spent all his life at sea, saving whales) said that Watson's vessel was clearly attempting to get close to the Japanese ship, and that the latter could not have avoided the resulting collision.
But there's a greater collision here, too. Sea Shepherd's heroic, piratical efforts (they fly both the Aboriginal flag, and a black skull and crossbones) are laudable, certainly. The deliberate killing of any whale for economic reasons (as Japan's certainly are) in the 21st century is unforgiveable and entirely unnecessary. But the 1986 International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on whaling worldwide – which Japan circumvents with its "scientific" charade – is both temporary, and voluntary.
Out on the Tasman Peninsula – fresh from watching humpback whales besporting themselves in the same Southern Ocean – I met a young shaven-headed disciple of Sea Shepherd. His voice tinged with passion, he was messianic about Watson and his cetacean crusade. Indeed, I could barely get a word in edgeways.
Sea Shepherd feeds on such passion. But as Bibi van der Zee argues in her piece on liberty central, what's needed here is dialogue, not violence in return for the violence of the explosive harpoon. Indeed, the more pragmatic among whale conservationists even envisage allowing Japan a local quota for whaling – thereby curtailing their unregulated pelagic fleet – in return for some kind of control. They reason that if the Japanese are pushed to anger any further, they may abandon all pretence of abiding by the IWC, and thus we (the largely western nations devoted to anti-whaling) will lose all semblance of control over the issue.
The Australian government, under Kevin Rudd, is determined to end Japanese whaling in their waters. But as more than one whale expert in Australia confided to me, Sea Shepherd's antics, for all its popular support in Australia and elsewhere (the rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers are just one of the donors to their cause), may be actively shackling the Australian government's more diplomatic attempts to end the slaughter. One is left to wonder: is Paul Watson's project a mere act of vanity? Maybe – but the rebel in me still applauds his Ahabian madness.
[Environment > Wind power]
£75bn for UK's biggest offshore wind programme signals new era for renewables
Crown Estate has revealed successful bidders for nine windfarm sites expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs and help the UK meet clean energy and carbon emission targets
Alok Jha, green technology correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 January 2010 11.57 GMT Article history
The UK government announced a £75bn programme today to build thousands of offshore wind turbines that will kickstart the next phase of renewable power generation in Britain.
The Crown Estate revealed the successful bidders for at least 25GW of windfarms across nine zones in the seas around the UK.
The nine winning bidders are: Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd, SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd, the Forewind Consortium equally owned by each of SSE Renewables, RWE Npower Renewables, Statoil and Statkraft, Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, East Anglia Offshore Wind Ltd equally owned by Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft, Eon Climate and Renewables UK, Eneco New Energy, RWE Npower Renewables and Centrica Renewable Energy and involving RES Group.
The developments could create tens of thousands of new jobs, which will be crucial if the UK is to meet its targets for clean energy and carbon emission cuts.
Gordon Brown said: "This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity. The offshore wind industry is at the heart of the UK economy's shift to low carbon and could be worth £75bn and support up to 70,000 jobs by 2020."
The UK has the biggest wind resource in Europe – some estimates put the UK's share at one-third of the continent's total. Secretary of state for energy Ed Miliband said: "Today's news shows we're creating the right conditions for the energy industry to invest in harnessing it." Taking advantage of the country's potential wind power will be critical in meeting the targets set by government for the UK to meet 15% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
Round three will be the biggest wind programme announced by the Crown Estate so far and aims to accelerate the deployment of wind energy on a massive scale.
The nine sites in line for development include Dogger Bank, the Bristol Channel, the seas off Norfolk and the Firth of Forth. The proposed windfarms will be further away from the coast and in deeper waters than any existing offshore project, and therefore more challenging to build.
According to Greenpeace, Britain already leads the world in the deployment of offshore wind and has more projects installed, in planning or in construction than any other country. Almost 700MW of offshore turbines are already installed across nine projects, with around another 1.2GW under construction and a further 3.5GW in planning stages. By comparison, a large coal-fired power station generates about 1GW of electricity.
In advance of today's announcement, Greenpeace executive director, John Sauven, said: "Throughout its history Britain has shown the determination and ingenuity to tackle the great industrial challenges of each era. In the 21st century these qualities are being called on once again, to enable the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable sources of energy. Our country is home to some of the best engineers, mechanics and construction professionals in the world. Their expertise will be crucial if we are to harness the massive potential that new technologies like offshore wind have to offer."
The winning consortia will face several challenges, including a lack of offshore connections to the national electricity grid and limited capacity in the supply and installation chain for windfarms. "The scale of round three will require a dramatic increase in manufacturing capacity for offshore wind, such as turbines, foundations, offshore electrics and installation vessels," said the British Wind Energy Association. It estimates that more than 55,000 jobs could be created in the planning, construction and maintenance of the thousands of wind turbines that will be built in the next decade.
However, Britain currently has no commercial-scale wind turbine manufacturing plants, following the closure of the Vestas plant on the Isle of Wight last year.
Another issue is that existing subsidies for offshore wind are only guaranteed until 2014, but very few of the round three projects will have begun operating by then.
The winning developers
> Moray Firth Zone, Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd which is 75% owned by EDP Renovaveis and 25% owned by SeaEnergy Renewables – 1.3 GW
> Firth of Forth Zone, SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd equally owned by SSE Renewables and Fluor – 3.5 GW
> Dogger Bank Zone, the Forewind Consortium equally owned by each of SSE Renewables, RWE Npower Renewables, Statoil and Statkraft – 9 GW
> Hornsea Zone, Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, a consortium equally owned by Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures and involving Hochtief Construction – 4 GW
> Norfolk Bank Zone, East Anglia Offshore Wind Ltd equally owned by Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft – 7.2 GW
> Hastings Zone, Eon Climate and Renewables UK – 0.6 GW
> West of Isle of Wight Zone, Eneco New Energy – 0.9 GW
> Bristol Channel Zone, RWE Npower Renewables, the UK subsidiary of RWE Innogy – 1.5 GW
> Irish Sea Zone, Centrica Renewable Energy and involving RES Group – 4.2 GW
[Comment is free > Cif green]
Anti-whalers collide over tactics
I find it hard not to admire Sea Shepherd's bold activism, but a more moderate approach may well save more whales
Philip Hoare
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 January 2010 15.00 GMT Article
Last month in Hobart harbour I watched as Ady Gil, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's latest weapon in their justified war against Japanese whalers, readied itself for departure. The black-painted and futuristic trimaran – a former racing vessel donated by a wealthy supporter and resembling nothing so much as a watery version of the Batmobile – was about to do battle with a whaling fleet that persistently breaches Australian waters to hunt for whales under the guise of "scientific research".
As I looked on from the quayside, the dreadlocked and tattooed crew – who looked like they might have been more at home at Glastonbury than on a seagoing vessel – got tooled up for the fight. It occurred to me, even then, that for all its apparent power, their craft would prove flimsy in the face of ocean waves – let alone Japanese resistance. Nevertheless, this week, they met their foe in the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean – and suffered a collision, the rights and wrongs of which are still unclear.
Sea Shepherd's founder, Paul Watson – a modern Ahab if there ever was one – claimed the Japanese ship deliberately rammed the Ady Gil. However, one very experienced whale man of my acquaintance (a man who's spent all his life at sea, saving whales) said that Watson's vessel was clearly attempting to get close to the Japanese ship, and that the latter could not have avoided the resulting collision.
But there's a greater collision here, too. Sea Shepherd's heroic, piratical efforts (they fly both the Aboriginal flag, and a black skull and crossbones) are laudable, certainly. The deliberate killing of any whale for economic reasons (as Japan's certainly are) in the 21st century is unforgiveable and entirely unnecessary. But the 1986 International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on whaling worldwide – which Japan circumvents with its "scientific" charade – is both temporary, and voluntary.
Out on the Tasman Peninsula – fresh from watching humpback whales besporting themselves in the same Southern Ocean – I met a young shaven-headed disciple of Sea Shepherd. His voice tinged with passion, he was messianic about Watson and his cetacean crusade. Indeed, I could barely get a word in edgeways.
Sea Shepherd feeds on such passion. But as Bibi van der Zee argues in her piece on liberty central, what's needed here is dialogue, not violence in return for the violence of the explosive harpoon. Indeed, the more pragmatic among whale conservationists even envisage allowing Japan a local quota for whaling – thereby curtailing their unregulated pelagic fleet – in return for some kind of control. They reason that if the Japanese are pushed to anger any further, they may abandon all pretence of abiding by the IWC, and thus we (the largely western nations devoted to anti-whaling) will lose all semblance of control over the issue.
The Australian government, under Kevin Rudd, is determined to end Japanese whaling in their waters. But as more than one whale expert in Australia confided to me, Sea Shepherd's antics, for all its popular support in Australia and elsewhere (the rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers are just one of the donors to their cause), may be actively shackling the Australian government's more diplomatic attempts to end the slaughter. One is left to wonder: is Paul Watson's project a mere act of vanity? Maybe – but the rebel in me still applauds his Ahabian madness.
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