The Power of the Wind

Are you keen to know a little more about wind energy? We’ve found this useful overview if you’re not quite sure how it all works, along with some interesting stats and trends to explore. Whilst you may think that wind turbines are a relatively new idea, the idea has actually been around for more than a century, although the concept has, as you'd imagine, developed and improved over time. You’ll see from the IRENA data that many countries install onshore rather than offshore wind farms - this is because it depends on geographical factors as well as the latter requiring incredibly expensive technology to implement.

Going straight into some recent news, the UK government has pledged this month that offshore wind farms will power every home by 2030. As with any political promise, lots will be said about how possible this vision really is, and of course, a lot remains to be seen, but either way we need systematic change to start somewhere, so having it on the agenda is a good start. There’s also talk that the move could boost jobs in the UK, which will be much needed as we move through the impact of the pandemic. 

Earlier this month the European Commission said it would invest €14 million in the North Sea Wind Power Hub (NSWPH) program which aims to accelerate "deployment of large scale offshore wind in the North Sea”. Energinet, Gasunie and TenneT have come together as a consortium to help meet the goals set out by the Paris Agreement. The North Sea surrounds a number of countries, so there needs to be a certain amount of cooperation, former ambassador Henk Swarttouw outlines some of these challenges, such as electoral cycles not lining up and the different political cultures at play.

Despite the pandemic halting a number of projects and initiatives this year, China has managed to install a huge number of wind farms across land and sea, soon to rival the UK’s wind farm industry. The country aims to have half of its energy provided by renewable sources by 2050. With a number of environmental concerns in China, it’s good to see some positive action. We’re really pleased to see so much focus on renewable energies at the moment, 2020 could have been a time to lose focus on the environmental crisis but it seems like many are trying to make sure it remains high up on the priority list.

Recorded last year, this is an interesting Ted talk titled The Astonishing Potential of Offshore Wind with Elizabeth Turnbull Henry. Elizabeth talks about the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as growing the economy at the same time, which is incredibly important if we are to move forward with renewable energy. Whilst the talk is focused on New England, it’s both informative and thought-provoking and we learned a lot from tuning in.