Land in Yorkshire needed for windfarms
LEEDS, UK, July 25, 2007. The Yorkshire region in Britain would need to install turbines over 34 km2 of land if its 2010 target for wind power is to be met.
Yorkshire Futures is compiling information on renewables and says 26 windfarms would need to be built over the next three years, with a total of 218 turbines, if the region is to meet its targets on renewables. Four windfarms currently operate in Yorkshire, including one at Chelker Reservoir, with another under construction at Knabs Ridge. Eight schemes have planning permission, and 12 more are pending.
The Yorkshire and Humber regional assembly wants 10% of its total energy to be provided by renewables by 2010. In a policy document submitted to government in 2005, the regional assembly said Yorkshire would provide 708 MW of green power by 2010, including 581 MW from wind, but Yorkshire Futures says the current capacity is 169 MW, of which 17 MW is from wind.
“It is clear that the region is very unlikely to meets its renewable energy target by 2010,” the report concludes. It is unlikely that large tracts of land could be dedicated to wind turbines because all applications meet strong public opposition and the wind resource is very low in North Yorkshire. The county has two national parks, which are among the most difficult areas to get approval for turbines.
The report was commissioned by Yorkshire Futures and carried out by ARUP to compare the current and future supply of green power in the region, and to determine if the supply would meet the Regional Spatial Strategy targets for 2010 and 2021. The RSS expects that wind will make the largest contribution to the 2010 target but progress has been relatively slow and, even if all schemes which have received consent to date were developed, the region would still fall short of that target by 60%.
The report also examines the status and potential for biomass, energy from waste (landfill gas and sewage sludge), small scale hydro and solar photovoltaics. Biomass co-firing has the potential to play “a considerable role” in the region, subject to the availability of fuel, and already accounts for 30% of green power capacity in the region.
“We have calculated that renewables could generate up to 97.9% of the 2020 consumption target, if the RSS targets are fully implemented,” the report concludes. “The RSS envisages a much greater take-up of renewable power in the period 2010- 2021 than has taken place to date, however. Implementation rates would need to accelerate in the next few years, and then maintain those higher rates throughout the 2010-2020 period, if this is to be seen in practice.”
“This has clear implications for the planning and permitting processes, and consultees to those processes,” it continues. “In addition to producing more renewable electricity, progress towards the consumption targets would be made if the region’s overall electricity demand could be reduced.”
“While regulatory agencies need to be prepared to handle a considerable volume of wind energy applications, they also need to focus efforts on supporting other technologies that will also contribute to delivery of the renewable energy targets,” it concludes. “There is a need for regional leadership to encourage the development of more renewable energy schemes. Although the 2010 RSS target is unlikely to be met, this report should catalyse action in the region to ensure that the gap between generation and target can be minimised by 2010.”
Renewable Energy Focus © Copyright 2008, Elsevier Ltd, All rights reserved.