The advantages of wind energy generation are: Each wind turbine is comparatively large (up to 2MW - future turbines will be larger) Once planning permission is obtained wind farms can be constructed quickly In high wind speed sites it is low cost (3.5 p/kWh) Disadvantages are: The intermittent energy source - though storage technologies are under development

Offshore development Recently there has been increasing interest in development of offshore wind farms. Despite higher capital and operating costs, there are significant benefits in moving offshore: Opportunity for greater capacity Higher mean wind speeds Lower turbulence Transfer of skills from oil & gas