The U.K.'s first windfarm - The birth of an industry

The U.K.'s First Windfarm - The Birth of an Industry shows how an idea in 1980 developed into the successful operation of the first commercial windfarm. It was not until 1988 that the prospect for a viable commercial windfarm in the U.K. became realistic. In that year many of the essential factors for such a development came together to change the direction of the U.K. wind energy industry from one of R.D. to the commercial reality of supplying the Grid. These essential factors were:•- the commercial production of reliable medium sized wind turbine generators.•- the privatisation of the U.K. Electricity Industry and the introduction of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (N.F.F.O.).•- a public awareness and concern for the environment enhanced by the recognition of the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ and the Chenobyl disaster.