Discouraging environmental news is everywhere we look these days, but more and more often, we’re finding that people all over the planet are making wonderfully encouraging steps toward greater sustainability. The London Array Project, which is an array of wind turbines located just offshore from London, England, now has the distinction of being the world’s largest wind farm. Let’s take a closer look at this innovating alternative power project.
Harnessing Offshore Wind Power
Work on the London Array began in July of 2009, when construction of the onshore substation began. Offshore work began in March of 2011, and by early spring of 2013, the array became operational. The London Array project generates clean, green electricity – and that’s not all; the energy ultimately costs less to produce than other, more traditional types of electricity.
With 1,000 megawatt maximum capacity and 175 turbines connected to one another and to two offshore substations by almost 450 kilometers of offshore cabling, the London Array is located approximately 20 kilometers off the North Foreland on the Kent Coast. If you’re picturing a tightly packed group of turbines, think again – the array covers about 100 square kilometers between Margate and Clacton in the Essex Estuary. It is capable of generating enough electricity to provide power to nearly half a million homes; in addition, it is estimated that the array will reduce the greater London grid’s harmful carbon dioxide emissions by more than 900,000 tons annually.
The London Array surpasses another of England’s offshore arrays, the Walney wind farm, which generates 237.2 megawatts and which held status as the planet’s largest wind farm prior to 2013. The London Array is likely to retain its status as the world’s biggest wind farm for several years to come; other large offshore farms are planned for South Korea and Sweden; each of these are planned to have 2,500 megawatt capacity, however they are still in the proposal stage. It is interesting to note that financial backing for the London Array was arranged in 2006; it took five years to begin construction, but once efforts were underway, the project was completed with relative rapidity.
London Array is playing a key role in helping the UK meet its government’s renewable energy and environmental targets. Notable among those are a 34% total reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020, and generation of 15% of all the UK’s energy from renewable sources by the year 2015.
As part of the planning and licensing process for the London Array, a number of environmental impact studies were undertaken to ensure birds, mammals, fish, and benthic ecology would not be harmed; in addition, studies focusing on the array’s impact to shipping and navigation, bot traffic, coastal processes, and even visual impact were undertaken. Cables have been covered with large boulders, which in turn help to create habitat for marine life – a fantastic side benefit of an already noteworthy project. It is hoped that as communities recognize the great value wind farms and other green energy generation stations represent, the number of wind farms and solar arrays will increase, enabling people to enjoy the many benefits electricity provides without harming our planet in the process.