§ 16. Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the development of offshore wind farms. [189185]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe UK has some of the best wind resources in the world. It is important that these resources are properly utilised to ensure that the United Kingdom's targets for generating electricity from renewable energy sources can be met. The development of offshore wind farms can potentially provide a major contribution to those targets and the Government are committed to ensuring that the right framework is in place to enable projects to proceed where an assessment of their impacts indicates they are acceptable.
There have been two competitive rounds of site leasing for offshore wind farms. Round 1 has resulted in 11 projects receiving development consents with two of these generating electricity and another at an early stage of construction. Government was able to announce last December that Round 2 will involve projects of a much bigger scale with the potential to provide electricity for up to £4 million homes. The developers of Round 2 projects are currently undertaking the assessment work necessary prior to submission of consent applications.