An offshore turbine more than 500ft tall with a diameter of 475ft is due to make an appearance in British waters within the next two years.

But the 10 megawatt machine, dubbed Britannia, may only mark the start of a growing trend, according to the project's leader Bill Grainger. He sees no reason why offshore turbines should not get even larger, since greater size and power make economic sense. Mr Grainger, who heads the Britannia design team, told The Engineer magazine: 'There isn't a technical issue that screams out size limit.

'You have to make changes as you get bigger. Blades get floppier, for example, so you have to put more carbon in, but we aren't anywhere near 100% carbon yet.'

Mr Grainger is engineering manager at Clipper Windpower Marine, the UK arm of the US company developing the 10 megawatt turbine.

The Britannia, being built at Blyth, Northumberland, will have three enormous blades, each weighing more than 30 tonnes. They will sweep a circle more than 100ft wider than the 400ft diameter of the London Eye. Standing on a solid foundation on the sea bed, the wind turbine will rise 574ft above the waves.

It is expected to generate enough electricity to power 10,000 homes, and over its lifetime could displace the use of two million barrels of oil. The most likely location for Britannia is Dogger Bank, off the north-east coast.


(Daily Mail)

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