Are Wind Farms a Sustainable Renewable Energy Source?
There is a segment of the UK populate that believe the answer is no. An increasingly vocal proponent against the development of wind farms in the UK is the disingenuously named Renewable Energy Foundation www.ref.org.uk whose founder and chairman is the television personality Noel Edmonds.The Renewable Energy Foundation has a lengthy mission statement illustrating the main thrust of their arguments against wind farms at http://www.ref.org.uk/refinfull.php - the piece begins with the following statement
"We are part of a growing national consensus that the United Kingdom’s energy policy is unbalanced, and that the drive for renewable energy generation has been inadequately planned, a fact that has resulted in a developer-led industrial feeding-frenzy that is neither green nor sustainable. It is improbable that this current broad-scale industrialisation of the countryside will bring about any significant reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases or meet the long-term energy needs of the UK"
and continues
"The UK is now facing a widespread and unplanned industrialisation of the countryside and the destruction of some of our most precious heritage through the building of wind power stations. The principal motivators of this activity and its precise direction are developer convenience and landowner compliance. Ministers condone this by standing back from the market in order to foster competition, in accordance with goal four. It might be argued that Ministers are in fact abdicating responsibility for the consequences of the artificial market, which they have established through legislation."
Obviously these are serious concerns for UK citizens and future generations. However, the assertion of the Renewable Energy Foundation delineating their concern for the industrialisation of the countryside seem to loose credence when one considers that of all proposals for wind farms in the UK, both offshore and offshore, 40% have been refused. It does not strike me that we are in a "developer-led industrial feeding-frenzy", nor that "ministers are in fact abdicating responsibility for the consequences of the artificial market". The kind of bombastic misinformation promulgated by the Renewable Energy Foundation is helping towards fostering an innate distrust of wind farms and the production of energy from wind turbines from the public, which will ultimately slow down our progress in this important area and our attempts as a nation to generate 10% of all our energy production from renewal sources by 2010.
There may be some hope on the horizon due to a pledge from the Labour government to introduce legislation that will force local planning agencies to look favourably on wind farms in the planning stage and move the debate away from political discussions about the efficiency of energy production from wind power (of all forms of renewable energy production, wind energy is closest to achieving profitability) and aesthetic objections (provided that the sites proposed are not sites of special scientific interest or national parks).
Two large-scale wind farms that have passed the planning stage are based offshore in the South East of England and when combined it is estimated that they will produce enough energy to power 990,000 homes in the area. The first project called the London Array is to be sited in the Thames estuary 12 miles from the coast and will contain 270 turbines in a 95 square mile area. The turbines will be approximately 100 metres from the sea surface and will create 1000 megawatts in total, which it is estimated will power 750,000 homes.
The second smaller wind farm known as the Thanet project will be sited off the North Kent coast. It will consist of 100 turbines that will produce 300 megawatts of electricity - this should power approximately 240,000 homes in the region.
Ultimately, it is your choice to decide whether you fall into the pro wind farm or anti wind farm camp and as we are in the age of the celebrity I'll finish the piece with quotes from two game show host veterans and wind power campaigners. See if you can guess which side of the fence they sit on...
"Wind turbines are modern-day guardian angels, a stunning addition to our rural landscape and a must if we are to move toward a future powered by green energy” Chris Tarrant speaking to the BWEA (British Wind Energy Association)
"The industrialisation of our landscapes with Wind Power stations will not prevent the impending energy crisis. Wind Turbines are Weapons of Mass Distraction. The rollout of thousands of these structures is a cynical attempt by the Government to distract the public and the media from the real issue – the UK’s impending energy crisis". Noel Edmonds speaking on behalf of the Renewable Energy Foundation
posted by Admin @ 11:22
3 Comments:
Before anyone decides what side they're on, he or she should consider the central claims that wind energy will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases or replace the need for other sources of energy.
Is there any evidence to support this?
km, thank you for your comment. The UK government have set a policy of obtaining 10% of energy via renewable sources and of those sources; wind power will generate most of this based on current opinion. Therefore, if this target is achieved at least 10% of our energy will be produced by clean means, so I would say that emissions of greenhouse gases will be reduced in the long term (albeit by a relatively low percentage) by the uptake of wind power solutions.
I think it would be hugely optimistic if not logistically impossible for wind power to replace the need for other sources of energy, but ultimately it is a step in the right direction.
The problem I see is how 10% production from wind translates to less fuel use at other sources, what with extra ramping, spinning standby, etc. In other words, would other sources actually be burning 10% less fuel, or any less?
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