LONDON
(Reuters) - British energy minister Malcolm Wicks has given the all clear to
three wind farms in England as the government tries to clear a backlog of clean
energy projects and hit ambitious renewable
energy
targets.
Two of the projects are onshore wind farms in North
Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, while the third is an offshore project planned
for the Thames Estuary.
"These three new wind farms will add a further 215
megawatts of green energy to the renewables revolution that is sweeping through
the UK," Wicks said in a statement.
Blustery Britain has huge wind
power
potential but local opposition and sluggish issuing of permits have left some
8,000 megawatts of projects mired in the planning system.
Even if wind farm developers do get permission, local
opposition to onshore projects remains strong while on- and offshore projects
still face grid connection problems.
Meanwhile turbines have multiplied across countries like
Spain and Germany.
Britain got just 4.55 percent of its electricity from
renewables in 2006, according to government figures.
Analysts are skeptical Britain will hit its own target of
15 percent by 2015 but the government insists it will.
"Real momentum for renewables in the UK is building...We
have more than doubled the amount of renewable electricity, and this will triple
again to 15 percent by 2015," Wicks said.
"We are on course to overtake Denmark next year as the
world leader in offshore wind and we are reviewing our strategy to take us even
further."
As part of European Union efforts to fight climate
change,
Britain must get 15 percent of all of its energy supply from renewables by 2020,
which will require a much greater share of electricity generation coming from
carbon free sources.
The latest permits are for an 85-MW onshore wind farm at
Keadby, North Lincolnshire by Renewable Energy Systems, a 66-MW onshore park at
Thorne, South Yorkshire planned E.ON UK Renewables and a 64-MW offshore plan by
Denmark's DONG Energy for the Thames Estuary near London.