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Anti-wind report peddles 'myths, half truths and misconceptions'

June 26, 2008

Wind industry body sets facts straight on costs of renewables

BWEA, the body representing the UK's wind, wave and tidal industry today moved to rebut claims made in a new report by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS). The Government will tomorrow launch its highly anticipated Renewable Energy Strategy that will set out the proposed routemap for achieving the ambitious target of delivering 15% of all of the UK's energy from renewables by 2020.

Maria McCaffery, BWEA Chief Executive "Wind energy could be delivering 33GW, nearly 30% of the UK's electricity by 2020. There are already 19GW at one stage or another in the system, either in operation, being built or waiting for planning." She added "This reports is little more than rehashing of old myths, half truths and misconceptions".

The report makes a number of unsubstantiated assertions:

Myth: Wind receives a public subsidy of £1bilion a year.

Fact: There is no public subsidy paid for wind. The Renewables Obligation is a requirement on supply companies to source a given percentage of their energy from renewables. Certificates are then given for each MWh of energy sourced, which can then be traded. This is a market based support mechanism which means that no public money is transferred. Wind accounts for only 1/3 of the RO take. Wind is currently more expensive to produce than more traditional forms of energy because of capital construction costs, however both oil and gas prices have doubled in the last year and when combined with a carbon price of 25-30 euros per tonne wind is competitive in price.

Myth: Wind is intermittent and unreliable

Fact: Wind energy is variable, however the typical wind farm operates 85-90% of the time. On average a UK onshore wind farms runs at its maximum capacity for 28% of the time, while offshore this is over 45%. This compares to a 61% 'capacity factor' for UK nuclear power stations in 2006, however unlike wind, nuclear power is truly 'intermittent' - either on a full blast or off entirely.

Myth: Wind needs massive amounts of back-up supply from fossil fuels

Fact: The is no form of energy supply that is 100% available, 100% of the time. The National Grid currently runs about 15% spare back-up capacity for all forms of electricity supply. There is always wind somewhere in the UK, and a lack of wind in one area is cancelled out by wind in others. The Government's own independent energy think-tank UK Energy Research Council, estimates that increased wind use would require back-up supply of up to 10% of the additional wind capacity. While National Grid believe that 35GW of wind would require an additional 3.5-6.5GW of short-term back-up supply, with an estimated cost to consumers of £6-£12 a year on the average £390 annual bill.

Myth: Wind turbines are inefficient

Fact: A wind farm is efficient if it produces more energy than it takes to build or operate. The average wind farm repays this 'energy debt' within the first 6-8 months of its operation.

Myth: Increased use of wind will increase electricity prices

Fact: Emerging evidence from Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Spain shows that increased use of wind actually reduces prices paid by consumers. Once capital construction costs are paid wind is virtually free to use - the electricity network uses wind energy whenever it is available as the lowest cost supply. This drives off more expensive forms of energy from the grid, meaning that the price paid by the consumer actually falls the more wind is used to produce electricity.

Myth: Not enough turbines can be built in time

Fact: Turbine manufacturing and installation capacity is concentrated on onshore wind, as offshore currently only represents 2% of the European market, however by 2020 that will grow to 20%, the vast majority of which will be in the UK. As new offshore sites are identified and allocated to developers, manufacturers will open new factories to meet the increased demand. There is expected to be over £40billion of investment in offshore wind over the next decade and a half, creating over 150,000 new jobs.

Myth: Wind would cause unnecessary expense in upgrading National Grid

Fact: The National Grid is old, and designed for a different era. Over the next 5-10 years up to 60% of the network needs to be upgraded or replaced irrespective of the need for renewables. This provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for reconfiguring the grid to meet the 21st century economic and environmental needs.

McCaffery added "Tomorrow's renewable Energy Strategy has the chance to make a giant step forward for the UK's economy, energy security and our ability to tackle climate change. The government must not be deflected by ill-informed critics and NIMBYs pursuing their own agendas."