Massive £4bn English wind farm plans scrapped

The £4bn Atlantic Array wind farm plans were scrapped due to financing issues.

13:17 26 November 2013

The BBC has reported that the government’s massive £4bn Atlantic Array wind farm plan off north Devon coast is now on hold.

According to its developer, this is because of the financial and technological challenges and not because of the concerns that were brought up by environmentalists about the impact of the 240-turbine on wildlife in the Bristol Channel.

The company's director of offshore wind, Paul Cowling, told the BBC: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly. However, given the technological challenges and market conditions, now is not the right time for RWE to continue to progress with this project."

Aside from the environmentalists, local residents also opposed the plan of building 722-feet turbines saying that this could cause lasting damage to the landscape. The turbines, which would have been four times higher than Nelson’s Column, were previously supposed to be built about eight miles from the Lundy Island nature reserve.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph believes that this is a huge blow for the government "which is looking to bigger wind farms in deeper waters to help provide low-carbon power". It wants to generate 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.