npower renewables is the UK's most innovative and experienced renewable energy developer, with the resources and skills to plan, design and successfully operate a diverse range of projects. Our current portfolio comprises generating capacity using a range of technologies:

Onshore wind
As the most commercially and technologically viable option for delivering clean energy at the present time, wind power has a crucial role to play in reducing carbon emissions, not just in the future but now. We operate 18 onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of 400.7 megawatts (MW).

Advanced technology and sophisticated control systems mean that a single, typical 2MW wind turbine will generate enough electricity to meet the average needs of well over 1,000 homes each year. This is an important natural energy resource which generates clean power and can also help bring new income and diversification to the countryside.

Offshore wind
Located 7km off the North Wales coast, our North Hoyle project is the UK's first major offshore wind farm, generating enough electricity to meet the average demand of some 40,000 households each year. We are in the process of building our second offshore wind farm at the neighbouring Rhyl Flats site and are investigating a third project in the area, 13km-15km offshore, called Gwynt y Môr. We are also involved in preliminary studies at a fourth site some 30km off the Lincolnshire coast. Together, these sites would have a combined capacity of around 2 gigawatts.

Hydro
Man has been using the water wheel as an energy source for thousands of years. Today we operate 15 hydroelectric power stations in the UK that use advanced versions of this ancient technology to produce 58.8MW of clean electricity. We are working to increase this portfolio of small-scale hydro schemes across the UK, and have further sites at various stages of development and construction.

Co-firing biomass
We currently operate 3 power stations that are involved with co-firing biomass, which to date have a combined biomass capacity of around 35MW. Co-firing is the simultaneous use of fossil fuels and biomass (organic material) typically at existing power stations. This allows the substitution of around 4% of the fossil fuel with materials such as sawdust. In the long term, we are aiming to co-fire an increasing amount of purposely grown "energy crops", for example willow. We are one of the leaders in the practical application of this technology and are actively involved with farmers and landowners to promote a secure supply of energy crops to sustain an ongoing biomass industry.

Generating efficiency
As our expertise develops and economies of scale take effect, costs of generation using these technologies are becoming increasingly competitive with other energy sources.

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