Page 67 - Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change
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Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change
Box 14: Successful acquisition of clean renewable energy via large-
scale operation of wind farms by Cumbria
207, 208, 209
The 659 MW Walney Extension project in Cumbria covers an area of 145 square kilometres
(km ) in the Irish Sea and uses eighty-seven (87) wind turbines that are capable of generating
2
enough green energy to power over half a million homes in the U.K. Combined with previously
existing capacity out of the Cumbrian district of Barrow-in-Furness, the Extension would help
generate up to a combined 1.5 gigawatts (GW), which is enough to power more than 1.2
million homes in the UK. The project was spearheaded by the Danish company Ørsted, and its
partners PKA and PFA. Figures 20 and 21 show the offshore wind farm installation at Cumbria.
Figure 20: Cumbria offshore wind farm turbines [xx]
Wind farm technology is at a pivotal stage of innovation, wherein ‘subsidies are needed
now to fuel the innovations that will lead to cost reductions and subsidy-free renewable
energy later,’ as explained by the De Oude Bibliotheek Academy from Delft, Netherlands.
It advocates deep-water, offshore floating wind turbines, as they will ‘greatly expand the
potential of the offshore wind market as it will open up previously unavailable waters for
offshore construction. This will lead to more investment, more innovation and thus a cost
reduction for offshore energy.’
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