It would be an understatement to say that today is a big one for renewable energy in this country. Because today the London Array – the world’s largest offshore windfarm – becomes fully operational. The scale is breath-taking – it will supply electricity to around half a million homes while providing a technological benchmark for future renewable sources across the globe to aspire to.
Until recently such a project would have been unthinkable.
There are no less than 175 turbines, covering 245 square kilometres off the Kent and Essex coast, which will generate clean, sustainable energy for the UK for generations to come. In no small way, this is thanks to tireless campaigning by supporters of clean energy around the world.
In 2002, the previous government introduced the Renewables Obligation, designed to encourage the growth of environmentally-friendly technology.
That same year, we released a report – Sea Wind - demonstrating the enormous potential wind technology holds for maintaining the UK’s energy supply while reducing our dependence on dirty energy sources.
This was at a time when, to many, moving away from dwindling North Sea gas reserves seemed impossible. But the report is still as relevant today as it was 11 years ago, with many of the words as true now as they were back then:
The first step for the government is to set its sights much higher for renewables. The naysayers and skeptics have kept the government’s ambitions small. By setting a high renewable energy target for 2020 and then working to deliver it, the government would set the UK on the road to being a world leader in renewables.
A year later and this started to become a reality. The UKs first offshore windfarm - North Hoyle – was switched on with 30 turbines supplying enough energy to power 50,000 homes.
Jump forward a decade and North Hoyle is one of the 362 windfarms across Britain – its turbines represent a fraction of the 4,000-plus now in place.
The world’s largest windfarm is now based in the UK. So is the second largest, third largest, the fourth and the fifth. And with your help, we've been pushing forward every step of the way.
The London Array is a powerful symbol of the progress that we've made – it will light up homes and create jobs while reducing CO2 emissions by 925,000 tonnes every year.
Of course there is still a long way to go in the journey towards a society built on clean, renewable energy but with the opening of London Array, at least we can see how far we have come.
