Off-shore Wind Farms for East Anglia Sept02

Bashir Khanbhai, Conservative MEP for the Eastern region, has today given his backing to the Greenpeace report, Sea Wind East, which proposes to create 40 wind farms off the shores of East Anglia in order to supply 25 per cent of the UK's current electricity demand by the year 2020.

Mr Khanbhai said, "It is fantastic news that the Scroby Sands Wind Farm, off Great Yarmouth, with the help of a European Union grant, has been given the green light. It will provide enough electricity for some 60,000 households by next autumn, but we should be aiming for much more ambitious targets.

"Generating the amount of clean electricity proposed in the joint Greenpeace/AEA Technology study would not only be of huge environmental benefit to the United Kingdom, but it would also bring significant economic benefits to the region by attracting an estimated £20 billion in investment and creating up to 60,000 jobs in East Anglia. This project could really put East Anglia at the centre of wind energy world-wide."

The waters off East Anglia, with low tidal ranges, shallow water and good wind speed are ideal to accommodate offshore wind farms. Mr Khanbhai added, "Harnessing these natural resources should be the main priority for the government.

"Now that the Public Consultation on the Energy Review has drawn to a close, I have written to Patricia Hewitt and the Government's regional office, GO:East, asking them to consider this report in the forthcoming White Paper.  It is about time this government showed it is serious about ensuring a clean, renewable energy future for Britain."

The announcement follows the findings of a recent MORI poll which reveals that a massive 84 per cent of East Anglians want more wind farms at sea, with 78% of the same sample opposed to the construction of new nuclear power plants.

ENDS

Notes: -

1.      Sea Wind East is a joint AEA Technology and Greenpeace study published in July 2002.

2.      Scroby Sands Offshore Wind Farm off Great Yarmouth, a Powergen project, was awarded statutory consents by the DTI, DEFRA and DTLR in April 2002.

3.      The Public Consultation period of the Energy Review closes on 13th September 2002, with a Government White Paper expected in January 2003