LONDON, Dec. 22 The British Wind Energy Association announced that Britain broke all of its wind energy records in 2006.Since 2004, the capacity of commissioned wind energy has increased 100 percent to 630 megawatts. Currently, 625 megawatts of capacity are under construction as well and another 2120 megawatts has been approved for construction.Installed capacity reached 1 gigawatt less than two years ago and is expected to exceed 2 GW in the near future. When that happens, the BWEA said, Britain will enter the top 10 in the global energy industry.A record high number of projects, including 21 onshore and one offshore, were commissioned this year with a total of 300 turbines generating 630.8 megawatts of power. Some of the major onshore projects included Hadyard Hill, South Ayrshire and most recently the offshore London Array.Growth at existing wind farms has also increased steadily in the number of turbines and megawatts generated. Approximately 425 wind turbines as part of 33 onshore projects were approved in 2006 and should generate about 821.15 megawatts. The two approved offshore projects are expected to contribute 1,300 megawatts from 270 turbines.Wind energy, commercialized in Britain 15 years ago, is the greatest contributor to the government's goal of 10 percent renewable energy by 2010.Copyright 2006 by UPI
