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As turbines get larger, not only do the costs go down, but the reliability of supply goes up. It becomes more economical to place them out at sea, where winds a
by Brakenshire 9y ago
As turbines get larger, not only do the costs go down, but the reliability of supply goes up. It becomes more economical to place them out at sea, where winds are more reliable, and the size allows them to run more effectively off low speed winds. These turbines are claiming 60%+ capacity factor, compared to 20-30% for smaller, onshore turbines.
The UK is already up to about 15% of its electricity from wind right now, these developments will open that up significantly more. Obviously at high levels of penetration there are going to be issues, we'll just have to see how far we can go, but even 25-40% of electricity would be a huge contribution.
Combine that with the new and existing nuclear, another 15%, some biomass and tidal lagoons, with the rest from gas (which produces half as much CO2 as coal) and it will go a long way towards meeting the UK's 80% CO2 reduction target from 1990 to 2050.