Cheap energy wind farms 'now generate enough to power 2.3m homes' - 21/10/2009
People keen to switch energy sources could be pleased to hear that the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) says UK wind farms can now power 2.3 million homes.
Four gigawatts (GW) of electricity are being generated from wind turbines now that the Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm is operational off the Essex coast, which is enough to power half of London.
The BWEA says immediate and longer-term climate change goals are now within reach as 1GW of wind farm-sourced electricity has come online in the past 12 months, setting up a hopeful future trend.
Maria McCafferty, chief executive of the BWEA, said: "With the very large capacity offshore schemes coming in from 2015, we should get to the target of 30GW of wind by 2020."
Offshore wind farms tend to be more popular as their visual impact is reduced in comparison to their onshore counterparts.
Former deputy prime minister John Prescott recently called for local councils to be compelled to set aside land for onshore wind farms.
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