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Vestas Wind Systems A/S shelved plans to build one of Europe’s largest offshore-turbine factories in southeast England as the wind industry calls for clarity on subsidy programs.
Vestas and the Port of Sheerness announced the decision to scrap plans for the facility in Kent today in a website statement. The Aarhus, Denmark-based company had intended to develop its biggest offshore turbine, a 7-megawatt machine, at the plant, creating 2,000 jobs.
The announcement is a blow to U.K. efforts to attract the largest turbine makers as it seeks to build 18 gigawatts of offshore turbines by 2020. Britain, overhauling its energy market to spur clean-power investment, proposed an Electricity Market Reform bill in May that includes replacing an offshore – wind subsidy with “contracts for difference,” which set long- term prices for power and are so far only in outline form.
Read More on wind Power Plant closure.
Copyright 2012 Bloomberg
This just shows how important it is to not rely on big industry to supply the power and many small turbines installed and managed by individuals can supply their own needs and save money, maybe even make some if feeding back to the grid. Being able to easily feed back to the grid with automatic metering and billing/crediting so that readings do not have to be taken each day to keep track will make it so much easier for the individual to supply energy back to the grid and get paid for it. As for storing the energy from large wind farms and not paying to turn them off when they are not needed that can easily be done by diverting the energy at off peak times to perhaps hydrogen generation or water desalination meaning any hydrogen or oxygen produced can then be easily stored and used as needed either for fuel for cars or conventional power plants to reduce their need for coal or dirty fuels.