THE FUTURE FOR WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE UK - PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS

There are now 22 windfarms with a total installed capacity of approxim ately 140 MW which are operational or under construction in the U.K. T hese windfarms will generate about 360 GWh in a full year and provide the electricity needs of about 250,000 individuals and save the emissi on of about 400,000 tonnes of CO2 each year. Developments so far have required an investment of about pound 140 million provided mostly by b anks and large corporate investors. Financing of these projects has br oken new ground for renewable energy technologies and established a fr amework for the financing of windfarms built in the U.K. and elsewhere in the world. This rapid development has created challenges for the p lanning process and thirteen public inquiries have been held. Eight of these have been successful. Statutory and other bodies have responded to the rapid deployment of windfarms by issuing guidelines and these together with Public Inquiry documentation now provide invaluable guid ance for the industry. The U.K. market is arguably the most 'open' in Europe and Danish Wind Turbine manufacturers have gained over 50 per c ent of the total market. A Japanese manufacturer has gained 25 per cen t whilst the major U.K. turbine supplier has gained 17 per cent market share. There are still over thirty turbine manufacturers worldwide an d signs that a combination of innovation and market pressures are cont inuing to reduce the costs of wind energy. Whilst 80 per cent of all w ind farms built using NFFO 1 and NFFO 2 contracts have been built by o nly four U.K. developers there are many more bidding into the NFFO 3 r ound. There have been 234 wind energy registrations in England and Wal es and probably over 70 in Scotland. The nameplate capacity of all the se projects is likely to exceed 2000 MW. Wind Energy in the U.K. is cl early a rapidly developing industry and its further development will n eed a sensitive response from the industry in order to recognise conce rns of visual intrusion and noise whilst maintaining the majority publ ic support that wind farming currently enjoys.