Re: Windfarm madness exposed

On 30 Jun, 18:54, "\"The Rifleman\"" <survi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Afraid your both wrong, and for true Blue thats very unusual.

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."

search | contact us | site map | © BWEA, 2007

I'm probably missing the point here but isn't the projected output of
33GW by 2020 equivalent to what could be achieved by turning the wick
up at one existing nuclear station?
If we are investing in new nuclear stations the marginal savings in
respect of producing 33GW less may well amount to very little indeed.
What reason is there to believe that the present government will weigh
all the angles competently, objectively, and comprehensively?

j
.

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