Octopus joins forces with EWT to boost onshore wind turbines across the UK
Octopus Energy Generation (Octopus) has teamed up with turbine manufacturer EWT to repower up to 1,000 existing onshore wind turbines in the UK.
The older wind turbines Octopus and EWT identified are located across England, Scotland and Wales, and have been operational for years.
In total the UK is home to around 9,000 onshore wind turbines, generating around 14GW of power.
Currently, they supply about 10 per cent of the UK’s annual electricity – making them one of the cheapest forms of energy generation to build.
The two companies aim to boost the generation capacity of around a tenth of these, providing power to hundreds of thousands more homes.
This includes installing bigger blades or adding as much as 20 metres to existing turbines’ height, while making them more tech-enabled .
The new EWT wind turbines will range from 250KW-1 MW.
Work on the turbines begins this autumn, with the aim of finishing at the end of the decade.
Zoisa North-Bond, chief executive of Octopus Energy Generation, said: “There’s a huge untapped opportunity to repower wind turbines that communities have already hosted for many years. This means powering even more homes with cheaper, local, green energy, helping to drive down energy bills and provide energy security.”
Currently, Octopus Energy Generation manages 3GW of renewable energy assets across Europe.
It is stepping up its generation capabilities and is planning to create 18GW of green energy projects worldwide over the next five years.
Onshore wind is facing challenging headwinds, with targets for ramping up its generation excluded from the UK’s supply security strategy.
Octopus has sought to marry local communities to onshore sites across the country, and has offered discounted energy to households which approve of turbines through its “Fan Club.”
However, Tory leadership contender Rishi Sunak has revealed he would maintain strict rules around the approval of onshore wind turbines and prioritise offshore generation.