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Government gives further boost to wind energy sector

Greenwise Staff
31st March 2010
The Government today pledged almost £5 million to the wind energy sector, including finance for a new radar for a large offshore wind farm and funding for micro-wind turbine test pads.

The radar project will receive £4 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and will allow the construction of the Sheringham Shoal wind farm off the coast of Norfolk as well as help other offshore wind farms down the line get consent. The project is being described as a “landmark partnership” between DECC, Ministry of Defence, The Crown Estate and four wind farm developers and will address interference that can be associated with older types of radar.

At the same time, DECC announced today a £750,000 grant for testing micro wind turbines. Most of the money will go on 10 new wind turbine test facilities at technology services company TUV NEL’s Myershill test site in East Kilbride, Scotland. A portion of the funding will also back research and development of how testing of micro-wind turbines can be done more cheaply and efficiently.

Today’s announcements follow several major investments into the UK wind energy sector over the past few weeks, including announcements by Siemens, Mitsubishi and General Electric that they are to locate manufacturing facilities in the UK. The Government, meanwhile, last week committed £60 million to develop sites close to ports suitable for turbine manufacturing.

DECC announced last October that it was funding a £5 million radar interference research project, to free up projects currently being held up in planning.

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