Wind farms in the World
Wind farms in the World
Middelgrunden offshore wind park, Copenhagen, Denmark
Middelgrunden is an offshore wind park in Øresund, in front of Copenhagen in Denmark. When it was constructed in 2000, it was the largest offshore wind farm in the world, with 20 2 MW turbines with a total capacity of 40 MW supplying about 3% of the electric energy used in Copenhagen.
The wind farm can be visited with a guided tour organised by a local cooperative, one of the farm’s partners, and proposes tours in collaboration with the local navigation companies, with 30 to 40 visits every year. Many different types of groups participate in these tours – obviously, those working in the wind power sector, but also government delegations, and students and tourists, in general. A special feature of this farm is that visitors can climb the turbines. Every two years in June, an open-door day is organised when usually 150 to 200 people climb these magnificent towers.
For more details visit the website https://www.middelgrunden.dk/.
Whitelee wind park, Eaglesham, Scotland
The Whitelee wind park is situated on the moors of Eaglesham, 370 metres above sea level, 15 kilometres north of Glasgow. It has 215 turbines with a total capacity of 539 MW (an average of 2.5 MW per turbine), able to power more than 350,000 households.
Over the years, the farm has become a true eco-tourist attraction also thanks to its visitors’ centre. The centre has an interactive exhibition room, a café, a shop and education centre. As well, the centre provides visitors with access to a network of more than 130 kilometres of trails to explore, on foot, by bicycle or by horse. There is also a free charging station for electric vehicles. Moreover, visitors can take a bus tour to get close up to the turbines.
For more details visit the website https://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/.
Photo source: https://www.renewable-technology.com/
Crookwell wind park, New South Wales, Australia
The Crookwell wind park is located five minutes by car from Crookwell, a small town on the southern plains of New South Wales in Australia in the Upper Lachlan Shire. It has eight wind turbines and was the first wind farm to be connected to the Australian electrical grid built by Pacific Power in 1998.
The park has a large and well-visited observation area overlooking the surrounding countryside and is listed as one of the must-see tourist attractions of New South Wales on the website “Visit NSW” (www.visitnsw.com).
Photo source: www.visitnsw.com
Woolnorth wind park, Tasmania, Australia
The Woolnorth wind park is made up of two installations, Bluff Point and Studland Bay, that are located at Woolnorth, in the extreme north-west of Tasmania, in Australia. The Bluff Point farm has 37 turbines with a total power capacity of 65 MW, Studland Bay 25 Vestas V90 turbines with a total capacity of 75 MW.
The wind farms can be visited thanks to a tour organised by Woolnorth Tours. There are also splendid views of the Antarctic Ocean and a visitors’ centre offering information on Woolnorth, on renewable energy production, the local Aboriginal heritage and clean air monitoring.
Il parco eolico di Woolnorth è costituito da due impanti, Bluff Point e Studland Bay, che si trovano a Woolnorth, nell’estremo nord-ovest della Tasmania, in Australia. Il parco eolico di Bluff Point è costituito da 37 turbine per 65 MW, quello di Studland Bay da 25 turbine Vestas V90 per una potenza complessiva di 75 MW.
I parchi eolici sono visitabili grazie a tour organizzati dalla compagnia Woolnorth Tours. Il parco regala anche splendide viste sull’Oceano Antartico con un centro visitatori che offre approfondimenti su Woolnorth, sulla produzione di energia rinnovabile, sul patrimonio aborigeno e sul monitoraggio dell’aria pulita.
For more details visit the website https://woolnorthrenewables.com.au/.
Photo source: www.woolnorthtours.com.au
Rampion offshore wind park, off the Sussex coast, England
The Rampion wind park is the first offshore wind farm off the southern English coast. It has 116 turbines, and is situated between 13 and 20 kilometres off the Sussex coast, in the English Channel, stretching from East Worthing in the west to Brighton in the east. It has an installed capacity of 400 MW and generates almost 1,400 GWh of energy every year, equivalent to the quantity of electricity used every year by almost 350,000 households, about half of those in Sussex.
The Rampion offshore wind park has been fully operational since April 2018 and has created about 60 full-time permanent job positions, and its construction played a role as a catalyst in regenerating the port area.
The farm can be visited by a boat tour organised by local operators allowing visitors to see the turbines close up. In 2020, a visitors’ centre was opened on the seafront of Brighton to raise awareness and understanding of the wind farm, as well as providing information on offshore wind-powered energy and global climate change. The centre hosts exhibitions, interactive displays, games and videos, and a 360˚ virtual reality (VR) experience.
For more details visit the website https://www.rampionoffshore.com/.
Photo source: www.rampionoffshore.com
Block Island offshore wind park, Rhode Island, United States
The first offshore wind farm built in the United States is located 6 kilometres off the south-east coast of Block Island, off Rhode Island, in the Atlantic Ocean. The project was developed to substitute the diesel generators that had previously supplied energy to the island. The farm has 5 6 MW turbines for a total capacity of 30 MW, able to power about 17,000 households and produce 12,000 MWh per year.
It can be visited thanks to boat tours organised by different local operators. Block Island wind park, according to a study done by the University of Rhode Island, has resulted in an increase in the island’s tourism. The university’s researchers analysed data on the house rentals in the area of the farm to examine the trends in monthly earnings, and the tenancy rates and bookings from about two years before the farm’s construction to a year after its construction. Contrary to some expectations, the results were all positive for the summer months with peaks in July and August, with no evident effects seen in the rest of the year. In July and August, following the farm’s construction, the AirBnB rentals on Block Island recorded, on average, an increase of 19% in tenancy rates and an increase of $3,490 in monthly earnings compared to those of the nearby communities of Narragansett, Westerly and Nantucket.
Photo source: https://www.blockislandferry.com/, https://www.windfarmtours.us/
Bangui wind park, Ilocos Norte, The Philippines
The Bangui wind park is made up of 26 wind turbines set out in a single row stretching along the bay of Bangui, in the western Philippine Sea. The Bangui wind turbines supply more than 40% of the electricity for Ilocos Norte through its connection with the grid of Luzon Island.
The Bangui wind park attracts tourists thanks to it being easily accessible, especially during the summer season. The development of this project has placed the province of Ilocos Norte in the top 10 tourist destinations of the country and the number of tourists is continuing to rise.
The Te Apiti wind park, Saddle Road, New Zealand
The Te Apiti onshore wind park is located north of the Manawatu Gorge, 10 kilometres from the town of Palmerston North, in New Zealand. It is the country’s first wind farm to feed electricity into the national grid, with 55 turbines for a total capacity of 90.75 MW generating enough electricity to meet the annual needs of about 45,000 households.
It has a public observation area offering visits to the farm, and an information display and is on the list of local tourist operators as one of the top 10 things to do in the area.
For more details visit the website https://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/.
Feldheim wind park, Germany, the first municipality to be fully supplied by renewable sources
Feldheim, a small town 90 kilometres south of Berlin, was the first town in Germany to become fully independent from the national electricity grid, thanks to a mix of renewable energy sources. The project owes its success to the excellent cooperation of the Municipality of Treuenbrietzen, the residents of Feldheim and the project developer, Energiequelle GmbH.
The project includes avant-garde wind turbine, photovoltaic, biogas and biomass installations which, through separate grids for district heating and electricity supply, provide locally produced heating and electricity directly to consumers. The nearby Feldheim wind farm is the backbone of the local electricity network, with 55 wind-powered turbines and total capacity of 122.6 MW managed by Energiequelle GmbH. The village and all the technologies used to generate energy can be visited with organised tours allowing visitors to access the different demonstration sites of the wind farm, the biogas plant, the photovoltaic farm, the lithium battery system and the district heating and biomass plant.
For more details visit the website https://nef-feldheim.info/?lang=en.
Photo source: https://nef-feldheim.info/?lang=en