Irish wind power could help keep UK lights on

?5bn plan to generate electricity for Britain Energy from 700 turbines would flow under Irish Sea

Hundreds of windfarms could be built on the great bog of Ireland to generate electricity exclusively for the UK's national grid under plans being considered by ministers.

Element Power, the company behind the £5bn proposal, hopes to build more than 700 turbines, with power conducted through two cables under the Irish Sea.

Company executives met Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, and civil servants to discuss the plans this summer.

The plans have been discussed within the coalition and appear to be acceptable to both political parties. Liberal Democrats want an increase in green energy but have concerns over the high price of building windfarms offshore. Conservative ministers are worried about the backlash in some rural communities as wind turbines have become more common.

The Irish project would need access to the subsidies given to UK wind power, but the difficulty for ministers in setting a precedent - which could mean any foreign energy projects could get UK subsidies - means the project faces major challenges.

Mike O'Neill, the president of Element Power, said the project would solve a number of thorny problems for the British government.

"Our experience is that it is easier to get planning permission in the Republic of Ireland, if you do it in a sensible and sensitive way," he said.

Britain's electricity suppliers are obliged to provide an increasing percentage of their electricity from renewable sources to help the UK meet its legally binding targets for cutting the carbon emissions that drive climate change.

Costs for onshore wind power are estimated to be half that of offshore wind power. Element Power claims its project, called Greenwire, will provide electricity at two-thirds of the cost of building a big offshore wind farm, saving UK consumers £7bn over 15 years.

The company says its proposed investment would be euros 8bn (£6.47bn) - two-thirds for the wind turbines and a third for the two cables to take the electricity to the UK. It says the project could provide three gigawatts of electricity capacity and employ thousands of workers.

O'Neill said the project could start generating power from 2018, if the subsidy obstacle could be overcome. Delays in the government setting the level of the subsidy were delaying the project. O'Neill said the energy company EDF was getting special treatment from the government over the price that will be guaranteed for nuclear power and Greenwire should get the same.

There are more than 1,100 turbines in operation in Ireland, mostly at 176 onshore windfarms, with a further seven offshore. Element Power hopes to expand in Meath, Westmeath, Kildare, Laois and Offaly but says that its project will not stop the Republic of Ireland meeting its own carbon target of a 40% cut by 2020.

Coalition tensions over green issues have increased since last month's reshuffle. Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, who has campaigned against windfarms in his North Shropshire constituency, is believed to have clashed with Davey, a Lib Dem.

Davey appeared to see off Conservative ministers' attempts to slash the subsidies for onshore wind farms, instead sticking with a smaller cut previously agreed with the industry.

The row began after more than 100 Conservative backbenchers wrote to the prime minister earlier this year demanding he dramatically cut the £400m in annual subsidies paid to onshore wind developers.

The energy secretary said the changes to subsidies for renewables, which also include reducing offshore wind payments and more than doubling support for tidal, stream and wave power, would boost clean electricity while curbing the cost to consumers.

£7bn

Projected saving over 15 years which Element Power says UK consumers will gain compared with offshore wind power

From The Guardian

Back to News