Environment Law Bulletin - Institute of Environmental Management ...

“Consent has been granted for building two moreoffshore wind farms, which will increase the numberoff the coast of the UK to five.”information to the Government on likelyinterest so that it can formulate its futurepolicy. Although the Crown Estate ownsthe seabed out to the 12 mile offshorelimit, the consents will be issued by the DTI.All plans should have been submitted tothe Crown Estate by 20 March 2003, andshould have included information on thescale of the proposed development anddetails of grid connection requirements.This is the second tender round followingthe first round in April 2001 when 18 siteswere identified for potential offshore windfarms. By February 2003, three of thesesites had gained the necessary planningconsent and are currently progressingtowards completion.(Crown Estate Press Release, 27 February 2003)Consent has been granted for building twomore offshore wind farms, which willincrease the number off the coast of theUK to five. The two new sites are in theThames Estuary – ‘Kentish Flats’ which willbe built by GREP UK Marine Limited withconstruction due to begin in 2004. Thesecond new wind farm is situated off thecoast of Cumbria in the Irish sea – ‘Barrow’,with work scheduled to begin in Spring2004 by Warwick Energy Limited. The twoprojects are likely to comprise around 200MW generating capacity.(DTI Press Release, 12 March 2003)Wave and tidal energyThe DTI has announced that it will makeavailable £4 million for developing wave andtidal technology in the highlands and islandsof Scotland. It is also to work towardssetting up a new capital grant scheme tosupport these energy sources, worth at least£5 million. It was also announced that therewould be a new joint venture betweenScottish and Southern energy and WeirGroup to develop new technology and waveelectricity generating schemes worth up to£10 million. The new money is designed tocontinue research in these areas in the shortterm in the hope that they will eventually becommercially viable. It was also acknowledgedthat improvements would need to bemade to the electricity transmission systemfor these technologies to impact uponnational electricity generation.(DTI Press Release, 21 March 2003)Onshore windProposals to construct and operate a windfarm at Cairn Uish in Scotland have beenapproved by the Scottish Executive. The newwind farm, which will supply 56MW of electricity,will be Scotland’s largest to date. Itwill be developed by Fred Olsen RenewablesLimited and will supply around 10% of therenewable generation capacity required tomeet Scotland’s 2010 target. The wind farmwas approved after a long consultationperiod during which the potential impactson the environment were investigated.(Scottish Executive News, 22 January 2003)BETTAA draft Bill on British-wide Electricity Tradingand Transmission Arrangements (BETTA) hasbeen published. BETTA is intended to introducea single set of trading rules andconnection policies for all of Great Britainand is aimed at reducing the barriers tosmall independent generators supplyingelectricity to customers in the South. Itshould increase competition in the industryallowing more consumer choice with lowerprices throughout Great Britain. Ofgem andthe DTI are working to implement the newarrangements by October 2004.(Parliament, January 2003)33Environment Law BulletinApril 2003