Yes! Just one 75 MW installation would create an estimated 245 jobs. The offshore wind energy industry in the UK represents a total potential market of £48 billion, and the creation of an entirely new industry will have significant effects beyond the employment figures.

There are several factors which suggest the development of an offshore wind energy industry. The resource is extremely large, the energy costs, although initially higher than for onshore, are cheaper than other renewable technologies and the risks are low, as early projects have shown. Many people, while agreeing that wind turbines are a useful strategy, are not happy to see them in their area. This is the NIMBY principle - not in my back yard.

In Delaware, and along the densely populated east coast, there is scarce suitable land for onshore wind parks. Located more than six miles from land as proposed by Bluewater Wind, the Delaware wind park, when visible at all, will appear very small on the horizon. Connecting offshore turbines to the power grid avoids construction of expensive high voltage overland transmission lines.

The environmental impact of offshore wind farms is considerably reduced compared with those onshore; both noise and visual impact are unlikely to be issues, but there are still some considerations. For example, there could be an environmental impact from carrying out work offshore, such as localised disturbance of the seabed.

Our list of all the operational wind farms in the UK also provides total industry statistics, including the number of wind farms and turbines, total capacity installed, and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

There are currently four operational offshore wind farms in UK waters. It is still a lot more expensive to have offshore wind farms, and still requires further support by the government, although the price of offshore wind energy is coming down. Further offshore projects are currently proposed for UK waters, however their development and construction will take a lot longer to deliver as experience is gained from the current offshore wind farms in the UK and Europe.

Offshore wind is wind energy located offshore, typically in ocean waters, though the wind potential of the Great Lakes is also being explored in the United States. Because offshore winds are more powerful than onshore, offshore wind turbines are usually larger. At present, two offshore wind farms, Cape Wind and Long Island Power Authority have been proposed for the United States and are undergoing review by Mineral Management Service .

Regardless of how they are procured, all wind farms in Ontario are required to undergo a series of local, provincial and federal approvals before they can reach commercial operation. The type of approvals required depends on the size, nature and location of the project. However, wind farms will always be required to enter into local zoning processes and are typically subject to environmental assessments.

To address the challenges of security of energy supply and climate change caused by emissions of carbon dioxide from traditional power stations. Locally produced renewable energy, like wind farms, is part of the solution to decrease reliance on overseas oil, gas, coal and uranium. The Royal Commission on the Environment concluded that the UK needs to move towards reducing harmful Carbon Dioxide emissions to 60% of 1997 levels by 2050.(http://www.rcep.org.uk/energy.htm).

A total of 14 offshore projects are currently operational worldwide in 5 countries. Click here to see a list of offshore wind projects around the world.

Wind farms need to be built in locations where they can make best use of strong, unimpeded wind flows, such as hilltops and ridgelines. The visual effect for local residents is a significant consideration when potential sites for wind farms are investigated. Meridian Energy applies a clean site philosophy to its wind projects that minimises the visual impact of the project, in particular the roading and substation placement.

All tall structures pose a risk to birds. Greenpeace opposes building wind farms on sensitive bird habitat, however, properly sited modern wind turbines in Australia carry a very low risk to birds. They typically cause one to two bird deaths per turbine each year. Compared to power lines, cars, and domestic cats, wind farms' risk to birds is low. Bird deaths at Australian windfarms are also lower than in the northern hemisphere.

Wind farms only work when it is windy, which is why wind turbines are located to take advantage of strong and consistent winds. In Australia, wind farms are generally in use more than in 95 per cent of the time. This compares favourably with conventional power plants. In some parts of Germany, wind energy can contribute up to 70 per cent of a region's electricity needs. The wind does not stop blowing everywhere in Australia all at once.

The wind energy resource at sea is extremely large, and the UK has one of the highest in the world with over 33% of the total European potential. In fact, the UK's offshore resource is equivalent to three times the UK's annual electricity consumption. Conservative calculations show that offshore wind alone could meet the 10% target by 2010. Offshore wind speeds are generally higher than coastal wind speeds. Ten kilometres from the shore, speeds are typically around one metre per second higher.

There are no technical barriers to installing offshore turbines but the construction, delivery to site and assembly of such large machines needs specialist equipment and vessels, facilities at ports and careful timetabling to make sure that the possibilities of using calm weather windows are maximised. Most UK developments have been installed using steel monopiles, but projects in other countries have used gravity foundations.

To my knowledge, there are three snail farms in the UK. One is called South West Snails in Devon. They will shortly have their own web site and I will be linking to it from this site. In the meantime, I will happily pass on enquiries to them but I make it a policy not to give out e-mail addresses of my contacts without their express permission. South West Snails process and sell their own snails. I am not sure if they would be willing to process snails for others.

Giant blades that are mounted on a tower catch the wind and turn a shaft. The turning shaft spins a generator that makes electricity.

Watts are very small units, so the terms kilowatt (kw, 1,000 watts), megawatt (MW, 1 million watts), and gigawatt (pronounced "jig-a-watt," GW, 1 billion watts) are most commonly used to describe the capacity of generating units like wind turbines or other power plants. One 50-watt light bulb left on for 20 hours consumes one kilowatt-hour of electricity (50 watts x 20 hours = 1,000 watt-hours = 1 kilowatt-hour).

No, not when wind farms are sited properly. Some of the early wind farms, specifically Altamont Pass in Northern California, have resulted in the death of raptors, such as hawks and eagles. In these areas, these birds of prey occasionally perch atop the wind turbines for a better view while hunting, and get caught in the spinning blades when the wind begins to blow.

Data gathered from European offshore wind parks over the past 15 years demonstrate that the turbines do not endanger birds and marine life. Bluewater Wind's plan to build more than six miles from shore places the turbines well away from the fly zones of most bird populations. The experience in Europe indicates that marine mammals and other marine life are essentially undisturbed by offshore wind turbines.

Despite their size, wind turbines are remarkably quiet. Today's high-tech machines generate what is termed broadband noise, often described as a "whooshing" sound. At a distance of 750 to 1,000 feet, modern windmills are no noisier than a kitchen refrigerator. Delaware's wind park would be sited six miles out (31680 feet), so the whooshing would not be detectable from shore.

offshore wind park will help to stabilize the price of electricity by using an energy source that is not subject to the fluctuation of market prices of fossil fuel, such as coal or natural gas. Bluewater Wind wants Delaware consumers to benefit from this price stability and we will do this by offering to sell the electricity generated at our wind park at a pre-determined price for a long-term period (20 years or more).

Yes, each park will employ approximately 60 - 75 people depending upon the facilities and size of the project. About 60% of these jobs are full time. Examples of the type of employees are; General Manager, Food Service Manager, Group Events Director, Sports Coordinators, Maintenance, Food Service Staff, etc.

Delaware's legislature has required Delmarva to request proposals for new power plant generation located within Delaware. In addition, the legislature has required that 10% of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by the year 2018. Bluewater Wind is responding to both of these public policies of the state of Delaware. The University of Delaware has confirmed a rich resource of wind off Delaware's shores.

A medium sized average house needs between 4-6MWh of energy per annum. In good locations one can expect wind speeds of six meters per second and on the coast they can be as high as 8 meters per second. However in urban areas, wind speeds, with lots of buildings around , you are probably looking at four meters per second and that will considerably affect performance.

Two recent surveys independently conducted by Knight Frank (on behalf of the British Wind Energy Association) and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), into the effect of wind farms on house prices summarise that their results are inconclusive. Those respondents that did report a negative impact to the RICS noted that it was predominantly during the planning stage of a wind farm development and probably a result of uncertainty about the proposal.

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the above answer indicates, ice throw does not present a danger except for the area close to turbines (that is, within a few hundred meters). ski areas, however, turbines would typically have to be sited very close to operating lifts and trailheads, making ice throw a safety concern. No. There is nothing different or unusual about managing the electricity flow from an operating wind plant.

Where a company wishing to develop a wind farm does not own the property on which the farm is to be developed, it must obtain the land owner's agreement to the development. Companies must also seek resource consents from the relevant local authorities (the regional, district or city council), under the Resource Management Act 1991(RMA). Wind farm developers must prepare and submit an Assessment of Environmental Effect (AEE) reports with their resource consent applications.