The most extensive study yet of the UK’s wind resource has found it to be the best in Europe, underlining its ability to make a significant contribution to our energy needs.
The research, conducted by Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute for the Department of Trade and Industry, analysed hourly wind speed records collected by the Met Office at 66 locations across the UK since 1970.
The key findings are:
-- The UK has the best wind resource in Europe. The recorded capacity factor for onshore wind energy in the UK is 27 per cent, greater even than in Germany (15 per cent) and Denmark (20 per cent) where wind farms are currently most widespread.
-- Availability of wind power in the UK is greater at precisely the times that we need it – during peak daytime periods and during the winter.
-- The UK wind resource is dependable. The likelihood of low wind speeds affecting 90 per cent of the country would only occur for one hour every five years.
-- The chance of wind turbines shutting down due to very high wind speeds is exceedingly rare – high winds affecting 40 per cent or more of the UK would occur in around one hour every 10 years and never affect the whole country.
Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said: ‘This research is a nail in the coffin of some of the exaggerated myths peddled by opponents of wind power.
‘Put simply, wind energy in the UK could be greater than that in Germany and Denmark. Wind in the UK is there when we need it most and we must continue our efforts to harness its potential for our future energy mix’
Graham Sinden, author of the report, said: ‘The UK wind resource offers a reliable source of electricity that is not only low carbon, but reduces the UK's reliance on imported fuels. By examining such extensive wind records from throughout the UK, we can be very confident that the study identified both long-term trends and the most extreme wind conditions the UK will experience.
‘The key to understanding the benefits of wind power for the UK rests with understanding the resource itself. The evidence shows that UK wind power delivers more energy at times of peak demand, and that claims that calm conditions regularly occur throughout the UK in winter are without foundation.’
An Executive Summary as well as a full copy of the report, ‘Wind Power and the UK Wind Resource’ can be obtained online at
http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/renewables/ukwind
Source: University of Oxford
Related stories:
What If Your Energy Supply is Gone with the Wind?
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new research program at Oregon State University proposes to tackle one of the major remaining problems with wind energy – how do you provide a steady, or at least predictable flow of electricity when the wind itself is never steady and often unpredictable?
Ford expands use of biomaterials to cut foreign oil need
Deep inside the laboratories of Ford Motor Co.'s research and innovation center, one lab feels a lot more like a witch's pantry than a place for developing the green cars and trucks of the future.
Oxford turbines to harvest energy from tides
Oxford researchers have developed a new tidal turbine which has the potential to harness tidal energy more efficiently and cheaply, using a device which is simpler and more robust and scaleable than current designs.
Probing Question: Is peak oil a myth?
Unprecedented summer gasoline prices are squeezing Americans' wallets and also expanding their vocabularies, as terms like "peak oil" gain common usage.
Major progress in technology needed for 25 percent renewable energy use to be affordable
Dramatic progress in renewable energy technology is needed if the United States desires to produce 25 percent of its electricity and motor vehicle fuel from renewable sources by 2025 without significantly increasing consumer costs, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.
New Study Sheds Light on the Growing U.S. Wind Power Market
For the third consecutive year the U.S. was home to the fastest-growing wind power market in the world, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Specifically, U.S. wind power capacity increased by 46 percent in 2007, representing a $9 billion investment in new wind projects. At this pace, wind is on a path to becoming a significant contributor to the U.S. power mix: wind projects accounted for 35 percent of all new electricity-generating capacity added in the U.S. in 2007, and more than 200 GW (gigawatts, or billion watts) of wind power are in various stages of development throughout the country.
First Analysis of the Water Requirements of a Hydrogen Economy
One of the touted benefits of the futuristic US hydrogen economy is that the hydrogen supply—in the form of water—is virtually limitless. This assumption is taken for granted so much that no major study has fully considered just how much water a sustainable hydrogen economy would need.
Researchers find substantial wind resource off Mid-Atlantic coast
The wind resource off the Mid-Atlantic coast could supply the energy needs of nine states from Massachusetts to North Carolina, plus the District of Columbia--with enough left over to support a 50 percent increase in future energy demand--according to a study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Stanford University.
