The projects foresee 540 windmills of three megawatts each, installed in groups of 30, with the nearest turbines between 1.5 and 10 kilometres offshore. More than half will be positioned in the Irish Sea along England's north-west coast between Liverpool and the Scottish border. The government will now be able to meet its domestic goal of cutting carbon CO2 emissions by 19 percent by 2010. Offshore wind is more expensive to tap than onshore wind, but local resistance to noise and to the sight of tall land-based turbines has made it an option worth exploring. The British Wind Energy Association already backs a pilot offshore wind project at Blyth with two wind turbines capable of generating two megawatts of electricity.
Wind power is a key element of the UK government's renewable energy strategy.
According to the association, the wind blowing across the seas around Britain could supply the island's electricity needs three times over, and could easily be producing 10 percent of its needs by 2010. To continue, this may amount to more than 2000 harbour porpoises annually in the Celtic Sea. UNEP therefor stated that this ever-increasing level of by catch is unsustainable and threatens to undermine conservation efforts. Sman, Josefien Wormgoor. NL-2301 EE Leiden, the Netherlands, tel.