by Michael Smith (Veshengro) Britain is the windiest country in Europe yet lags behind some of its more progressive neighbors when it comes to tapping into the energy potential of this resource.
That needs to change, according to the chief executive of the British Wind Energy Association Maria McCaffrey.
Speaking at Energy & Environment 2009 in London she said: “The bulk of our energy generation is still coming from fossil fuels but the good news is that the entire energy sector has bought into the belief that a greater contribution must come from renewables.
“Within that the greatest contributor is going to be wind energy - both on and offshore.”
“That can help us reduce our dependency on imports and create greater independence by harnessing our own natural resources.”
“The biggest cost is of deployment is the capital cost up front – the fuel itself is free.”
She said there were four key things needed to make wind power a reality – plenty of wind, the technology, capital investment and political will.
The first two are, she argued, a given.
The UK has the best wind resource in Europe, both on and offshore, but has yet to tap into its full potential, said Ms McCaffrey.
Germany, by comparison, has one of the worst wind resources on the continent but currently manages to produce ten times more energy from wind than Britain.
Turbine technology is now well-proven, with bigger and more efficient machines being built all the time.
Investment is also still looking promising on the whole, said Ms McCaffrey, even in these gloomy economic times, and the Renewables Obligation framework makes the UK highly attractive.
"It's a very capital intensive process but then so also are most other forms of electricity generation," she said.
"There's still a healthy investment market in the UK despite the economic situation over the past 12 months."
But there are obstacles, she said.
“Working against us is the fact that we still have problems with the planning system and access to the grid.”
“Our national grid is over 50 years old and is in radical need of upgrading and replacement in many parts.”
“If it has to be replaced anyway, let's make it fit for the purpose of modern energy.”
Ms McCaffrey said political will is needed to cement all the other factors together and the right regulatory framework is needed to keep investment in the UK to secure jobs and wealth creation.
She claimed that Government has taken big steps in the right direction over the past six months, with the creation of DECC a sign that it is serious about climate change, but it must now translate good intentions into action to ensure the UK reaches its full potential.
The absolute biggest problem, aside from the apparent lack of political will and the fact that government is still in bed with the fossil fuel industry, or better, and more precise, the government nigh on is the fossil fuel industry, are also the NIMBYs who are – again and again – permitted to steamroller proposed wind farms.
Has anyone ever questioned who bankrolls those supposedly grassroots NIMBY movements that – mysteriously – tend to spring up from nowhere when a wind generating facility is proposed somewhere and who also – more often than not – oppose small wind?
The fingers of the vested interest groups are showing through there for certain, for no supposedly small grassroots groups can get funds as most of them seem to have from just “members”. There just is no way.
It is so strange, is it not, that things are so much different in Germany and Denmark. The latter country really profited from the Danish government's farsightedness in those early days in that the investment of the government now brings in an annual revenue several times bigger than the initial investment.
While Britain could be leading we are not and this is due to the fact that the political will simply, regardless of all the positive noises from government and the back benches, is not there to push the cause for renewables, overruling objections.
It can be done and must be done ...
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