January 17, 2007
U.K.
U.K.
The possible closure of an offshore wind farm in Blyth, England, has lawmakers questioning future projects, Newcastle’s Journal newspaper reported.
The two turbines at the Blyth wind farm were installed in 2000, making it the first offshore project in England. For 10 months though, it’s been offline and the owners say they are considering taking it down.
Both of the turbines have been out of operation since the main power cable was sliced last March, cutting off the electricity. Difficult weather conditions have delayed repair. The project also faced trouble when first a turbine was hit by lightening and then a cable failed. Shell, E.ON and NUON, co-own the turbines at Blyth.
We now have to think about what we want to do with the turbines – whether we want to remove them or if we should fix the cable, said a spokesman from E.ON. The project at Blyth was a genuine test case. It was the first offshore wind farm and without it we would not have been able to go ahead with other, large, projects, which have up to 30 turbines.Critics say the question of removing the turbines raises concerns about offshore wind in general as well as replacement turbines or future projects in Blyth. Elizabeth Mann, a member of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has been researching wind farms.
It’s an absolute failure, she said. They are now talking about putting up more huge turbines on the harbor, but these ones have been a total failure.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/01/17/original-offshore-wind-farm-may-be-failing/