WHERE THE TAPE IS REDDEST LEAD-TIME STUDY TURNS UP SURPRISE FINDINGS, WRITES JANICE MASSY

摘要

Patience is a necessary virtue for many wind developers in Europe, judging by a study of obstacles to wind development in the region. The EU-funded Wind Barriers project finds it is quicker to get consent for an offshore wind project, with an average lead time of 18 months, compared to 42 months for onshore. The time needed for wind farm construction permission applications ranges across the EU from less than ten months to nearly 60. The project was co-ordinated by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). It collected data from 22 countries representing 5.7GW of capacity, most of it connected in 2008. The initial results were revealed at the European Wind Energy Conference in Warsaw, Poland, in April.