Wind Power Development in the United Kingdom (UK)
 Wind Turbine |
Currently, 1.5% of UK power is provided by wind and it is estimated that by the year 2010, that will have increased to 8%. Current provisions for this new capacity are both on and off shore power sites (off shore sites are extremely useful in generating power as they have unlimited waves & tidal energy).
February 2007 allowed for the opening of the Braes O’Doune wind farm with a capacity of 2GW of power. In fact, in the last 7 years, wind has been the fastest growing energy source. At this time there are approximately 269 farms providing enough power for 4,759,898 households.
National and International Objectives
Objectives in both the UK and the United States are slowly being met because of falling costs of wind energy and government policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Production Tax Credits in the United States however, have not allowed for a significant increase in production.
Economic Development
Aside from energy alternatives, wind energy provides $1 million in economic development for every MW of energy produced. It allows rural communities steady income through lease and royalties to both land owners and farmers. The estimated supplemental income from one single utility scale turbine is $200 year - for a 250 acre farm, $14,000 - allowing for a subsidy in income in times of bad weather.
The last 5 years shows an average yearly increase of 29% as 46-50 states have adequate wind resources. For continued success in the United States there must be long-term extensions of the Production Tax Credits as well as access, upgrades and investment.
Written by Fluorescent EfficiencyEnergy Efficient Compact Fluorescent Lighting
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