Why Wind Energy?
There are many reasons for supporting wind energy.
A Limitless Resource
British wind is the best in Europe. The UK has 40% of the total European wind resource - a massive untapped potential, theoretically sufficient to meet the country's electricity needs 8 times over.
Compare this with the UK's own domestic resources of fossil fuels which are all but exhausted. We are now a net importer of natural gas leaving us helplessly exposed to price volatility.
A Clean Resource
Wind energy produces no CO2. Instead every unit of electricity generated from a wind turbine displaces one that would otherwise be generated from fossil fuels, and thus prevents the emission of several of the greenhouse gases, including carbon and sulphur dioxides and nitrous oxide. One modern turbine saves 4,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and wind turbines across the UK currently prevent the emission of well over one and a half million tonnes of CO2 each year.
In addition the average windfarm in the UK will pay back the energy used to build it within 3-5 months, significantly faster than conventional or nuclear power stations.
Unlike nuclear power stations wind energy produces no radioactive waste. Therefore when wind farms are decommissioned after 20-25 years they don't leave behind any deadly waste for future generations to deal with. Moreover during their operating lifespan they will never be subject to catastrophic accidents putting the health of the public at risk, or targets of a terrorist attack.
A Competitive Resource
The UK Government's figures show that all wind power will be cheaper than nuclear power by 2020. The price of electricity generated from a wind turbine has fallen by a factor of 4 since the first wind farm started operating in the UK in 1991. Wind energy is now as cheap as conventional fossil fuel generation.
The average cost of generating electricity from onshore wind is now around 3-4p per kilowatt hour, competitive with new coal (2.5-4.5p) and cheaper than new nuclear (4-7p). As gas prices increase and wind power costs fall - both of which are very likely - wind becomes even more competitive, so much so that some time after 2010 wind should challenge gas as the lowest cost power source.
Furthermore, the wind is a free and widely available fuel source, therefore once the wind farm is in place, there are no fuel or waste related costs.
In addition the Renewable Obligation will place a value on the 'greenness' of electricity which is higher than the price of power itself. Combined with the exemption of renewably-generated electricity from the Climate Change Levy, 'going green' now makes good business as well as environmental sense, saving businesses 0.43 pence per unit of electricity.
Why not use other forms of renewable energy?
The ideal solution is to have a balance of energy supply from a mix of sources. This will provide security of supply for the future while still reducing our carbon emissions. At present wind is the most cost-effective and advanced form of renewable energy currently available. We know it works- at present Denmark already gets 20% of its electricity supply from renewable resources. In the future, with sufficient investment, it is hoped that other renewable sources such as wave, tidal and biomass can be used.
A Popular Resource
Wind energy is more popular than you may think. Evidence from opinion surveys carried out over the past 12 years regularly show that the vast majority of people in the UK support wind energy. Indeed research shows 8 out of 10 people support wind energy while fewer than 5% are against.
There are many myths and inaccuracies in the wind energy debate. People have been led to believe that wind farms are noisy nuisances which disturb the lives of locals living in the area. On the contrary, people who live near a wind farm and have direct experience of it generating electricity tend to be more positive than those who do not. Indeed, recent studies have shown that the closer people live to a wind farm the more supportive they are of both the project and wind power as an energy source.
Others arguments suggest wind farms destroy our most sensitive natural areas, but again this is far from the truth. A long and careful planning process needs to take place before a wind farm can be built. Any environmentally sensitive areas cannot even be considered for development. This can be due to archaeological, geological or wildlife considerations.