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Ethan King

Mr. Phillips

English III

4/27/2018

Britain’s Offshore Wind Power

Have you ever considered alternative energy sources? Maybe the fact that wind power

would overtake nuclear generation in some countries? Wind energy is surfacing in the face of the

21st century; and it’s popular due to its ability to remain environmentally friendly, while being

able to produce a large amount of power if done correctly. Britain could take advantage of wind

power, due to their volatile offshore winds from the surrounding waters. Britain’s natural

offshore winds give them a competitive edge against other countries, and it could be utilized to

improve the economy, while promoting an environment-friendly agenda.

Shruti Shukla of The Crown Estate stated that there was “A very strong showing in the

UK”, and “Europe had its best year ever” in wind power. “2017 has been a milestone year for the

UK offshore wind sector” said Huub Den Rooijen; he states that Britain has been “making the

most of the UK’s world-class seabed resources, and creating job opportunities across the

country.” Both people are managers of The Crown Estate and have gathered their opinions from

data gathered around the world pertaining to the subject of wind power; For example, GWEC - a

transcontinental research team, conducted research on turbines installed in other countries, and

concluded that Europe had grown the most. So much hard work has been put into this sector of

power generation, and it’s paid off by making Europe competitive in wind power production

around the world.

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Some people may disagree with wind power generation in saying that they’re noise and

visual pollution, are a threat to wildlife, and that you must rely on the wind; These arguments are

proved invalid once you consider the benefits that wind power will provide. Firstly, I think the

turbines look great, and they make no noise practically; Noise and visual pollution don’t matter

in grand scheme of sustaining an economically friendly power source. Secondly, birds may be

killed, and maybe some fish will have to swim around the turbines, but you have to “break a few

eggs to make a cake” as they say. Lastly, relying on the wind is pretty easy with Britain’s volatile

wind currents.

By utilizing Britain’s offshore wind, the economy will sky rocket! “Encouraging this new

industry is a key component to The Crown Estate strategy” says Shruti Shukla, “and we have

seen an exponential growth in activity.” By utilizing wind power, thousands of jobs have been

created. Programs teaching what is required to maintain and build these offshore wind turbines

have spawned in preparation of the new wave for power generation. Gary Thompson of The

Crown Estate has worked with European businesses to acquire turbine-devoted land through

agreement for leases; This is smart because Britain does not have to pay out of pocket directly,

and builds the economy by having long-term business investments in European companies. “A

further 4.5 giga watts of offshore wind farms is under construction. This is Significant for our

business as our revenue increases in line with offshore energy production.”

There are many reasons for the world, not just Britain, to invest in wind power. Firstly,

private companies may lease land to the government for turbine installation, and in return the

government would provide permanent income for the privilege of using the land. Secondly, wind

power has a very sleek and modern look; and investing in it will make your country look more

sophisticated. Thirdly, the energy is renewable; by setting up wind turbines, power keeps
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generating until the machine busts. Fourthly, wind turbines can be easily installed on existing

farms. Finally, there is rapid growth in the industry; “Global offshore wind market scores all

time high – market up 95%” (GWEC).

By using wind power, Britain has created jobs and school programs for rising engineers.

Gary Thompson stated that “6380 were directly employed”, and the business has “doubled

offshore workforce since 2010;” By doubling the offshore workforce, Britain would have

employed many rising engineers for a good cause. Since wind power is a growing industry,

many new engineers will have that as a career option for years to come. Gary Thompson also

said “18,300 jobs are supported by the industry;” Several processes go into the making and

installation of the wind turbines, manufacturing and construction jobs are created as a by product

of developing the industry. 2017 has created an influx of jobs within Britain.

I have seen the statistics myself with The Crown Estate’s wind power graph, it describes

the amount of power generated during certain time periods, and how it compares to other power

sources being used at the time. I accessed it on 4/17/2018, and found that 16.7% of all of Britain

was being powered by wind turbines at that moment. The last month yielded 2,388.6 GWH by

itself, while the last twelve months produced 23.7 TWH.

Because 2017 has been a milestone year for Britain, many advances have been made in

promoting an environmentally-friendly journal. Co2 emissions have been reduced by 8.6 million

tons, because wind turbines have been replacing the existing petroleum power system. Britain

has invested in wind turbines enough to the point where 20% of all their power is wind based.

The UK generates more electricity from offshore wind than any other country in the world, it

could easily take its place as one of the top clean power producers in the world. How could

somebody not want to invest in a renewable clean energy source? By investing in Wind power,
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Britain has promoted an environmentally friendly agenda, and boosted their economy for the

better.
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Works Cited

“7 Pros and Cons of Wind Energy.” Conserve Energy Future, 3 Feb. 2017, www.conserve-

energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-wind-energy.php.

“Global Status of Wind Power.” GWEC, gwec.net/global-figures/wind-energy-global-status/.

“Map.” The Crown Estate, www.thecrownestate.co.uk/estates-

map/map?lat=52.36925103670041&long=2.4547171328124477&zoom=15&viewasset=

9034.