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UK Wants Huge Expansion In Offshore Wind Power

Posted by kdawson on from the think-of-the-birds dept.

OriginalArlen writes "The UK government has announced an ambitious plan to expand the existing offshore wind turbine farms, which are already extensive, to an estimated 7,000 units — two per mile of coastline — enough to generate 20% of the UK's power needs by 2020. The newly green-friendly Conservative opposition party is also backing the scheme. Wonder what they'll make of it in Oregon..."

2 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. Story update by OriginalArlen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Since I submitted the story on Sunday, they've actually made the announcement (on Sunday, it was just being heavily trailed in the press.)

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    Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven
  2. Actually, no. by Chas · · Score: 5, Informative

    The whole "kills lots of birds" things came about because of some very early, very dense wind farms that weren't planned out very well and had smaller, very high-speed blade systems.

    Newer wind turbine systems are larger, slower, better-designed, and more care is usually given to layout of a wind farm so that, while SOME birds are occasionally killed, the numbers are greatly reduced.

    Do some Google searches for "altamont pass" and "wind turbines kill birds".

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    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!