In 1991, the UK’s first commercial on-shore wind farm opened at Delabole in Cornwall. Ten turbines were installed, with an annual output of about 12m kw/h – enough to power around 2700 homes each year. This is now one of seven commercial wind farms in Cornwall, together which produce the equivalent of the power used by 25,000 homes.
Two of these are run by Cornwall Light and Power, who have two further sites in development. The company is currently repowering one of its established sites, Goonhilly, which will soon provide enough electricity for 11,000 homes.
But as well as these large-scale developments, there has been a significant increase in demand for community owned wind farms, small scale and microgeneration. For example, at Jubilee Wharf in Penryn – a mixed commercial and residential development – four turbines provide 50% of the site’s annual electricity requirement. Cornwall Council’s sustainable energy strategy will encourage more new developments to invest wind power over the coming years.
In addition, Cornwall is close to two of the UK’s most promising potential future off-shore wind farm sites, including the proposed ‘Atlantic Array’ to be located in the Bristol Channel and the site off the coast of Devon at Lyme Bay (west of Isle of Wight). These provide significant supply chain opportunities from operations and maintenance to deep water foundation technology, supply of blade tooling and materials. A Cornish company, Frugo Seacore, laid the foundations for the Isle of Wight development – the largest in the UK.
With government strategy aiming to generate an additional 25GW of offshore wind power per year by 2020 as part of meeting EU renewable energy targets, the UK is forecast to be the world’s largest offshore wind market in the coming decade. Cornwall’s location gives it excellent access to strategic markets, while EU funding available in Cornwall offers an added boost to wind power businesses.
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