|
The UK is one of the best locations for wind power in the world, and is considered to be the best in Europe.〔(UK Renewable Energy Roadmap Crown copyright, July 2011 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=BBC – Weather Centre – Climate Change – Wind Power )〕 Wind power delivers a growing percentage of the energy in the United Kingdom and at the end of November 2015, wind power in the United Kingdom consisted of 6,649 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of over 13.5 gigawatts: 8,476 megawatts of onshore capacity and 5,048 megawatts of offshore capacity.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= UK Wind Energy Database (UKWED) )〕 The United Kingdom is ranked as the world's sixth largest producer of wind power, having overtaken France and Italy in 2012.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Wind power production for main countries )〕 Polling of public opinion consistently shows strong support for wind power in the UK, with nearly three quarters of the population agreeing with its use, even for people living near onshore wind turbines.〔〔〔〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=An investigation into the potential barriers facing the development of offshore wind energy in Scotland )〕 In 2014, 28.1 TW·h of energy was generated by wind power, which contributed 9.3% of the UK's electricity requirement. 1.3 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2014, a 12% increase of the total UK installed capacity. The largest wind farms to come on stream in 2014 were Harestanes onshore (136 MW max. capacity) and West of Duddon Sands offshore (389 MW). Through the Renewables Obligation, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MW·h of electricity they have purchased.〔(Renewables Obligation ). Ofgem.gov.uk.〕 Within the United Kingdom, wind power is the largest source of renewable electricity, and the second largest source of renewable energy after biomass. However, the UK's Conservative government is opposed to onshore wind power and has cancelled subsidies for onshore wind turbines from April 2016. Overall, wind power raises costs of electricity little. In 2015, it was estimated that the use of wind power in the UK had added £18 to the average yearly electricity bill.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=British public thinks wind power subsidies are 14 times higher than reality )〕 Nevertheless, offshore wind power is significantly more expensive than onshore, which raises costs. Offshore wind projects completed in 2012–14 had a levelised cost of electricity of £131/MWh compared to a wholesale price of £40–50/MWh; the industry hopes to get the cost down to £100/MWh for projects approved in 2020. ==History== The world's first electricity generating wind turbine was a battery charging machine installed in July 1887 by Scottish academic James Blyth to light his holiday home in Marykirk, Scotland. It was in 1951 that the first utility grid-connected wind turbine to operate in the United Kingdom was built by John Brown & Company in the Orkney Islands.〔 In the 1970s, industrial scale wind generation was first proposed as an electricity source for the United Kingdom; the higher working potential of offshore wind was recognised with a capital cost per kilowatt estimated at £150 to £250. In 2007 the United Kingdom Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of the EU’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Each EU member state was given its own allocated target: for the United Kingdom it is 15%. This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive. As renewable heat and renewable fuel production in the United Kingdom are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35–40% of the United Kingdom's electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date,〔McKenna, John. (8 April 2009) (New Civil Engineer – Wind power: Chancellor urged to use budget to aid ailing developers ). Nce.co.uk.〕 to be met largely by 33–35 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind capacity. In December 2007, the Government announced plans for an expansion of wind energy in the United Kingdom, by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of up to 25 GW worth of wind farm offshore sites in preparation for a new round of development. These proposed sites are in addition to the 8 GW worth of sites already awarded in the 2 earlier rounds of site allocations, Round 1 in 2001 and Round 2 in 2003. Taken together it is estimated that this would result in the construction of over 7,000 offshore wind turbines. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wind power in the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|