A massive wind farm with up to 440 turbines has been proposed for the Irish Sea in a joint project between a Danish energy company and Centrica, an integrated energy company working in the UK and North America.
The initial proposal for the huge wind farm has been submitted to the National Infrastructure Planning branch of the UK government.
Called Rhiannon Wind Farm Limited, it is the first offshore wind facility to be proposed for the Irish Sea Zone. The proposed site location is about thirty kilometers southeast of the Isle of Man. (This island is about 100 kilometers from Belfast.)
The full wind power potential of the Irish Sea Zone has been estimated to be 4.2 GW — two more gigawatts than the current proposed project, even though it is enormous.
One criticism of the site’s location is that, if constructed, the wind power installation might disrupt ferry routes. However, project representatives will meet with the appropriate travel administrators to address these concerns.
One advantage of locating wind turbines offshore is that their operation noise is typically far away from people, so it isn’t bothersome and there are fewer NIMBYs.
Some say the vibration of the turbines can bother fish, but so far this impact seems negligible, though it probably requires more research. In some cases, the addition of turbines has encouraged biodiversity on the sea floor where they are located.
The UK government has intended to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by the year 2050, compared with levels from 1990. The transition to clean energy sources has been estimated to have the potential to generate business opportunities worth around $100 billion and possibly create 500,000 jobs.
