§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many wind generators are working in the United Kingdom; and how many are planned to be built in the next five years. [129062]
§ Mr. TimmsMy Department does not collate figures for all wind turbine generators in the UK. Only if a wind farm application is referred to DTI through section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 or through the Transport and Works Act 1992 (wind farms of an installed capacity of 50 megawatts or above onshore and 1MW or above offshore) would this Department have figures. The British Wind Energy Association states that the current number of wind turbines operating in the UK which are grid connected is 1,030, and the total installed capacity for operating wind turbines in the UK is 587 megawatts.
Wind generation will provide an important contribution to the Government's target of generating 10 per cent. of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010. It is for wind farm developers to bring forward their proposals for future developments. There have been an 436W encouraging number of applications for wind farms that have received planning consent and I expect this trend to continue.