Britain approved the second phase of plans to expand an offshore wind farm, adding 300 turbines about 55 miles off of England’s shores.
The Hornsea Two windfarm project, to be built by DONG Energy, is part of Britain's push to invest in new electricity generation capacity needed to overcome a squeeze on power supplies in the next decade.
All but one of Britain's existing nuclear plants, which produce around a fifth of the country's electricity, are set to close by 2030 as they come to the end of their operational lifespans. And the government plans to close coal-fired plants by 2025 as a part of its efforts to meet climate targets.
The 300 turbines are hoping to produce around 1.8 gigawatts of electricity. This, added to the 1.2 gigawatts already being produced, will bring the Hornsea Two project up to 3 gigawatts or 2.5 million average homes—in the United States.
If all goes well, the company will add a third project to the Hornsea zone, which it estimates could eventually provide 4 gigawatts of generation — 4 percent of the country’s electricity demand.
The U.K. got 25 percent of its electricity from renewable resources in 2015, and it aims for 30 percent by 2020. Much of that is expected to come from offshore wind. Some countries in the U.K. are succeeding with renewable energy goals. Scotland, for instance, got all of its electricity from wind one blustery day earlier this month.
Easy breezy.