Independent think tank says wind is good
This week independent think tank IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) have published a new peer reviewed guide to wind power concluding that, guess what...
"unequivocally that wind power can significantly reduce carbon emissions, is reliable, poses no threat to energy security, and is technically capable of providing a significant proportion of the UK’s electricity supply with minimal impact on the existing operation of the grid. Claims to the contrary are not supported by the evidence."
The report also publishes many fascinating facts that dispel much of the nimby propaganda pushed out every time a controversial planning application is under consideration. For example, really how much do renewables add to typical household energy bills? According to the report an estimated £30 per year (from 2004 to 2010) - in contrast increases in the cost of wholesale gas added a whopping £290!
Dear Griff Ryhs Jones
Following a recent article in which Mr Jones was fiercely critical of onshore wind it's good see the balance being redressed by this impassioned response from a Radio Times reader:
In this age of scrupulous impartiality, when any opinion has to be counterbalanced by an opposing view - no matter how reasonable (or not) one or other might be - you did at least head Griff Rhys Jones's column as a "Point of View".
This should have given readers the important clue that the arguments put forward weren't facts. This was particularly so of his assertion that wind farms are a vestige of hypocritical green tokenism, sited at random - and thus without any planning or foresight.
Domestic-scale windmills on houses in West London are hypocritical green tokenism; on-shore megawatt-scale turbines sited after lengthy assessment to ensure their positive contribution to the environment, are not. These are the quickest, cheapest, most flexible - and most easily removable power generation generation technology we have.
They are part of a working landscape managed and modified by man for several thousand years. That landscape never was, and should not now be, preserved in aspic - otherwise we might as well rename it Disneyland. J. Holt, Herts.