UK: Wind power passes six-gigawatt threshold

The group confirmed last night that the 6GW threshold had been passed after it was announced that the Ormonde offshore wind farm off the coast of Cumbria now has 120 MW of capacity operational.

‘This is a landmark achievement,’ said RenewableUK’s Chief Executive, Maria McCaffery. ‘There’s a great feeling of pride throughout the industry that we’ve reached a record high of 6GW, and there’s a further 19.5GW of capacity under construction, consented, or in planning.’

She added that the industry remained confident that it could deliver on the target set out in the government’s renewable energy roadmap for 31GW of onshore and offshore wind turbines capacity to be in place by 2020.

‘The government’s Renewable Energy Roadmap is calling for 31 GW of onshore and offshore wind power combined by 2020, and we’re confident that we can deliver this if we continue to get the right level of government support,’ she said.

Speaking at RenewableUK’s annual parliamentary reception last night, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the government remained fully committed to accelerating the expansion of the UK’s wind energy sector.

‘Working together, we can reach even greater heights,’ he said. ‘We are eager to ensure that the UK becomes the natural home for the most innovative, ambitious and inspiring renewable energy companies in the world, and we will continue to work with the industry to drive down costs and encourage even stronger growth in the years to come.’

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