HC Deb 22 February 1989 vol 147 cc639-40W
Mr. Home Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made by his Department in the consideration of the potential of offshore wind power during the past seven years.

Mr. Michael Spicer

The technical potential of offshore wind power has been estimated at around 140 Twh/year at an expected cost of electricity in the range 4…2– 7…4 p/kWh. These estimates are based on collaborative studies which were jointly funded by my Department and the CEGB, and have taken into account constraints imposed by other offshore activities. The extent to which any of this resource could be economically exploited will be the subject of further work.

The United Kingdom has also participated in an International Energy Agency (IEA) study of offshore wind energy conversion systems which considered the technical and economic problems of exploiting this resource.