Floating and gravity based turbines – not piling, says MCS

The winds of change are blowing in the UK for ….wind energy. In a pre-autumn statement announcement, ministers said they will cut support for onshore wind and solar energy, but give more backing to offshore wind power.

Here’s what the Marine Conservation Society had to say on the subject:

‘Renewable energy is essential if we are to attempt to tackle climate change and meet  our demands for electricity sustainably. With its dependably high wind speeds, large tidal range, and strong currents and waves, Britain is rich in offshore renewable energy resources.

MCS is supportive of offshore wind energy as an essential component of measures needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but infrastructure must be located and developed sensitively alongside, not instead of, land based renewables, energy efficiency measures, and cutting consumption and  transport emissions.

Offshore wind power is not without impacts of its own, and can cause damage to habitats and disturb or displace species. The greatest effects are caused in the construction phase, with, for example, noise pollution caused by piling into the seabed harming hearing in marine mammals.

Our message is that Government should favour floating or gravity based wind turbines. The turbines can also, if placed too close to the shore, impact on the UK’s beautiful land and seascapes.

MCS aims to ensure that developments are sensitively located, where their potential impacts on marine life, natural physical processes, seascape and other users of the sea are minimised from the outset.’

To find out more about the Marine Conservation Society, click here.