Aa a sharp winter wind whips up the Irish Sea off the coast of Cumbria in north-west England, a group of engineers-snug in their onshore control room-gaze contentedly at their screens. Almost all of the 108 giant offshore wind turbines that make up the West of Duddon Sands wind farm are flashing green, indicating that they are operating at full capacity. With a following wind, each turbine at this 26-square-mile (67-square-kilometre) facility can contribute as much as 3.5 megawatts (mw) of electricity to the national grid, enough to provide power for more than 2,500 households per year. That adds up to around 389MW for the whole farm at full capacity, making it one of the biggest offshore wind farms in Britain, though the nation's largest coal-fired plant can produce ten times that much energy.
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