Policy Hub
On 25 June 2008, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) published a report (Wind chill: why wind energy will not fill the UK’s energy gap) which considers the government’s commitment to deliver 15% of all its energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020.
The report argues that if the government is to meet its renewables target, then the amount of electricity to be generated by wind farms will have to increase by more than 20 times. This will be highly expensive with the total cost of meeting the 2020 target estimated at close to £100billion.
The report quotes the Royal Academy of Engineering’s calculations that wind energy is two and a half times more expensive than other forms of electricity generation in the UK. It claims that wind generation cannot provide a reliable supply of wind power and suggests that an over-reliance on expensive wind energy, coupled with rising gas prices, could drive millions of households into fuel poverty.
The report recommends that the UK should develop its nuclear, clean coal (including coal gasification) and other renewable supplies of energy (particular tidal). It concludes that wind energy should pay only a negligible role in plugging the UK’s energy gap.
Wind chill: why wind energy will not fill the UK’s energy gap