INVEST NORTHERN IRELAND SPONSORS OF REGIONAL FOCUS
GREENERNORTHERN IRELAND?
IS NORTHERN IRELAND A GOOD LOCATION FOR WIND TURBINES?
The development of wind power as a renewable energy source will focus its attention on offshore rather than onshore locations. Eastern, coastal parts of Northern Ireland are bordered by the Irish Sea, which along with the North Sea, is expected to house a rapidly increasing number of wind farms in the coming years, for a number of reasons:
The wind resource is favourable, with very few calm days annually across the country. Strong and prevailing westerly or south- westerly winds extend a long way east into the Irish Sea, permitting development both close to shore and potentially further out into the ocean at a later date.
WIND ROSE PLOT: Wind Rose for Mean Wind at Belfast Airport, Northern Ireland Jan 2001 - Dec 2010 DISPLAY: Wind Speed Direction (blowing from) NORTH 20% 16% 12% 8% 4% WEST EAST
WIND SPEED (Knots)
SOUTH
>= 33 28 - 33 16 - 28 11 - 16 1 - 11
Calms: 1.08%
The economy will likely continue to benefit from the planned investment into such high-tech industries as turbine construction and development. Large organisations such as DONG energy, Denmark’s leading energy company, have already started negotiations and this is only expected to fuel further developments in the coming years.
COMMENTS: DATA PERIOD:
2001-2010 Jan 1 - Dec 31 00:00 - 23:00
COMPANY NAME: MODELER: CALM WINDS: 1.08% AVG. WIND SPEED: 16.10 Knots WRPLOT View - Lakes Environmental Software TOTAL COUNT: 87097 hrs. DATE: 22/12/2011
• Wind rose for dominant wind direction
The Irish Sea is a shallow body of water, much like the North Sea. This drives down construction costs, mainly since the turbines themselves are not required to be as big as they would be in a deeper ocean. In addition, the cost of transporting the turbines from the coast to their final, offshore location is reduced since their mass is that much lower.
All turbines have a cut-off speed above which an automatic braking system
prevents them from turning, a process designed to reduce damage to the blades themselves (this speed varies between models, but usually lies between 15 and 25 ms-1).
Although frequently windy, eastern coastal counties of Northern Ireland record such speeds on a more intermittent basis than areas in the north and west of the country that are exposed to the full force of the North Atlantic Ocean, meaning that turbines are operational for a greater proportion of the time.
• Environmental impact • Noise pollution • Dominant wind direction is typically South South West
Martin Sanger WeatherNet Ltd
www.weathernet.co.uk
PROJECT NO.:
MEAN WIND ROSE: BELFAST AIRPORT (diagram left)
WHY IS NORTHERN IRELAND IN A PRIME LOCATION TO BENEFIT FROM THE GROWTH OF ONSHORE/OFFSHORE WIND POWER? Extensive development is planned in the Irish Sea as previously mentioned. Numerous wind turbine projects are expected to be centred in this body of water in the coming years, eventually creating thousands of new jobs. Discussions regarding these developments are ongoing as this article is written, with plans to utilise Belfast Harbour for construction purposes. An additional major port is centred at Larne in County Antrim, some 20 miles to the northeast of Belfast.
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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