The new report prepared by economics professor Gordon Hughes, a former advisor to World Bank, Dr Capell Aris, a fellow of the IET, and Dr John Constable of the Global Warming Policy Forum, explains how the broad assumption that offshore wind prices are falling is not valid. Through a detailed statistical analysis of the data, covering 86 wind farms, the authors found that capital cost of offshore wind (£/MWh installed) is actually rising as a consequence of companies moving into deeper and deeper waters. The summary of the report is provided below. The full report can be downloaded from this page.
Offshore Wind
UK
The WindAction Group (www.windAction.org)
Facts, analysis, exposure to industrial wind energy's real impacts
The attached appeal upholds the prior judgement to revoke the planning permission for a single community scale 500kw wind turbine at Severndale Farm, Tidenham, Gloucestershire. Resilient Energy's granted planning permission was heavily influenced by their promise to provide an annual donation to a local community fund. The court determined that this donation did not qualify as material consideration, due to its intended purposes unrelated to the developer's land use, and, therefore, was unlawfully taken into account by the Forest of Dean District Council in making their decision.
Environmental and scientific groups in Greece submitted this letter to the Prime Minister of Greece and the Ministry of Environment and Energy seeking the cancellation of proposed wind energy development on 14 protected islets in the South Aegean. The letter translated into English is provided below. The original letter in Greek can be accessed at the document links on this page.
In Finney v Welsh, the appeal court supported the decision to refuse an increase in wind turbine height after finding that a 10-meter increase in turbine height would be a material change that would be inconsistent with the description of the permitted development and thus would result in a different development. A section of the decision is provided below. The full decision can be accessed by selection the document links on this page.
The attached letter written by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds raises their concerns over Hornsea Project Three, an offshore wind project located in the North Sea. New information has arisen indicating that the project will adversely effect the breeding grounds of the gannet, kittiwake, and black-backed gull populations and negatively impact the integrity of the Flamborough and Filey Coast SPA. The Royal Society urges the Secretary of State to extend the deadline for the project's development order to consider this new information and recommends that alternative energy solutions be explored.
This paper examines the risks and liabilities of decommissioning offshore wind energy facillties and the lack of regulatory oversight needed to ensure proper planning for taking the turbines down and restoring the site to its orginal state.
The pilot study carried out in Satakunta and Northern Ostrobothnia in Finland shows that the damage caused by infrasound from wind power plants will only decrease significantly more than 15 kilometers away from wind turbines. The study was carried out by the Finnish Association for Environmental Health (SYTe) in the spring 2016. A portion of the study's results is provided below. The full report (in English) can be found at the document links on this page.
This paper examines the impact of wind turbines on residential property values. The abstract of the paper is provided below. The full paper can be accessed at the document link(s) on this page.
The Renewable Energy Foundation published this research paper by Dr Gordon Hughes, Professor of Economics at the University of Edinburgh, on the performance over time of wind farms in the United Kingdom and Denmark. The paper can be downloaded by clicking on the link(s) on this page. The UK and Danish data used in the analysis is also available below. The following summarises the results of the research.
This paper is one of the first to report on the mortality of insects due to wind turbines. The summary of the paper is provided below. The full paper can be accessed at the document links on this page.
This paper examines the issues involved in deciding whether an operating wind project in Europe is likely to be repowered as the facility approaches its end of life. The document can be downloaded from this page. The paper's abstract and concluding paragraphs are excerpted and provided below.
The United Kingdom has has taken steps to reduce the financial burden of supporting renewable energy in the country. The Government introduced its new Low Carbon Levies (LCL) framework which was designed to control the cost of supporting low carbon electricity paid by consumers on their electric bills. The plan addresses the costs of the 'Contracts for Difference' (CFD), the 'Renewable Obligation' (RO) and the 'Feed in Tariff Scheme' (FiTs). The government asserted that it will monitor the total cost of these programs and, "Until the total burden of these costs is forecast to fall in real terms over a sustained period, the Control will not allow for new low carbon electricity levies to be introduced. Based on the current forecast, ...this will rule out new levy spend until 2025." The portion of the Government document is provided below. The full report can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.
FINLAND. Aunio Group Oy from Oulu has developed a device for measuring and recording infrasound produced by wind turbines. The measurement equipment can be used to produce research data for investigating the characteristics of infrasound and where it spreads, and to analyze any health problems it may cause. The infrasound produced by wind turbines differs from infra-sounds occurring in nature; according to measurements the infrasound produced by wind turbines is a clear signal - distinguishable from ambient noise in the environment. This paper describes the method of evaluating the Anuio Group's device and the results. The full paper can be accessed by clicking the links on this page.
On December 24, 2015, a Vestas wind turbine collapsed in Lemnhult, Sweden. More than a year later, the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority has launched its report. The full report, in Swedish, can be accessed by clicking the links on this page. An English summary which is also provded in the report is posted below. Images of the collapsed Vestas V112 turbine can be found here.
Abstract
This important research identified that migrating raptor species tend to be attracted to offshore wind turbines and that the risk of colliding with wind turbines at sea is much greater than previously assumed. The abstract and resulting discussion of the paper are provided below. The full paper can be downloaded by clinking the links on this page.