NEW RECORD SET IN THE UK!
The capacity of renewable energy has overtaken that of fossil fuels in the UK for the first time. In the last five years, the amount of renewable energy has tripled whilst fossil fuels have fallen by a one-third. Imperial College London, which compiled the figures said the rate at which renewables had been built in the past few years was greater than the “dash for gas” in the 1990’s.
Between July and September, the capacity of wind, solar, biomass and hydropower reached 41.9 gigawatts, exceeding the 41.2 gigawatt capacity of coal, gas and oil-fired power plants. This was the first time in history that UK renewable energy surpasses fossil fuels.
Britain’s power system is slowly changing, reducing its use of fossil fuels whilst increasing renewables. In terms of installed capacity, wind is the biggest source of renewables at more than 20GW.
With the rise of renewables, the UK plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2050. The government also plan to phase out coal by 2025, so we’re going to have a keep an eye out over the next seven years to see if that milestone has been achieved.
Ever wondered how wind turbines convert wind into electricity? For those of you who have no interest in learning a fun fact – we’ll keep it short and simple.
As the wind turns the turbines, kinetic energy is transformed by a generator into electricity. The electricity alternating current is sent to the substation. The electrical energy is then sent to the shore by a cable (export cable), which is then sent to an onshore substation. Electricity from the substation is sent to an electrical grid and transported to end consumers (us).
A project called Kincardine has started its installation of the first floating wind farm located off the coast of Aberdeen. This is the first semi-submersible installation for floating offshore wind. The technology is designed to be fully assembled at the quayside and once the technology is taken offshore, pre-installed mooring systems await. The turbines just need to be hooked up, connected to the electrical cable and electricity is ready to be produced without the need of bringing large vessels and expensive operations (as is normally the case offshore wind farms).
Whilst the fixed windfarm market will continue to grow at a steady pace for years to come, its development will slow down due to the limitations of water depths. Floating wind turbines can
be deployed virtually anywhere, regardless of seabed depth.
We're all for clean energy!
FIRST FLOATING WIND FARM
JANUARY 2019 | MANE ENERGY | 17