Thoughtful Discourse On Wind Energy -- Only The Brits Write So Well

For the archives.

Juan Mearns is writing:

I want to dissect some of Jennifer Webber’s statement:

We’re generating from a home-grown source

My understanding is that the majority if not all of the turbines have been imported.

which gives us a secure supply of power

Wind comes and goes with the N Atlantic weather systems: > 6GW one moment and < 0.5GW the next. It is fundamentally dishonest to describe this as secure. The security of electricity supplies is provided by natural gas, coal and imports that are cycled up and down to balance for erratic wind.

at cost we can control

According to DECC, wind is the most expensive form of electricity currently produced in the UK (Figure 3), it may well be controlled but at a fixed high cost for consumers.

rather than leaving ourselves exposed to the global fluctuation in fossil fuel prices which have driven bills up

This statement is also fundamentally untrue. It is true that high natural gas prices have put upwards pressure on electricity prices, but this past year, coal has been dirt cheap. And the UK derives roughly 20% of its electricity from nuclear, largely immune to short term moves in fossil fuel prices. So where does the truth lie?

And the conclusion:

The UK grid cannot currently run on intermittent wind that is dependent upon other, cheaper sources of electricity to provide balancing and grid stability. Wind is currently killing the power generation system it requires for its own survival and the high electricity costs this brave new energy world has created is crippling the British economy and spreading energy poverty. This is a problem made in Westminster. UK energy policy is built around the desire to reduce CO2 emissions and not to provide secure and affordable supplies of energy for its people. It is time to repeal or amend the 2008 Climate Change Act.