Facts about wind power

The Government and the North West Region has set Planning Policy Guidelines for Local Authorities. Although these are sympathetic to renewable energy schemes, they also recognise that wind-turbines can have a major, damaging visual impact and that approval should not be given if landscape and visual impacts cannot be accommodated.

Local Authorities have too often been over-persuaded by the flawed, but 'slick' arguments of developers, who stress the claimed benefits of wind turbines and understate their defects. These are many. Wind turbines are only viable if the public gives a big subsidy. They depend on wind strength, so are out of action much of the time. The electricity produced is well under 30% of installed capacity. They take up huge areas. Their visual impact can stretch for many miles and they ruin the natural landscape and people’s enjoyment of it.

 

“Wind turbines do not generate in light or very strong winds” TRUE! Below 8-10 mph wind speed they do not generate and cut out for safety reasons above 56 mph. Maximum generation is reached around 30 mph. 75% of UK winds are below 18mph. Thus onshore turbines usually produce only 18 to 26% of their potential electricity (called the ‘load factor’) depending on the site.

 

 “Wind farms only produce power for 25% of the time”.   FALSE! They generate some power for 70-75% of the time but just a trickle when wind is less than 18mph. In fact they do not generate any worthwhile power from between 55 and 110 days each year depending on the windiness of the site.

 

 But isn’t wind energy free? The wind is free but extracting the energy from it is not. The electricity produced cannot be stored and feeding it into the national grid is complex and costly – a bill ultimately paid by the consumer. Coal or gas-fired power stations are still needed to maintain uninterrupted supplies of electricity when there is not enough wind. So any savings in CO2 emissions by using wind energy are significantly reduced by power stations running inefficiently on standby.

 

 “Turbine lifespan is 20-25 years”.   FALSE! This is claimed by developers but many are replaced after just 9 to 12 years (called re-powering) with yet larger turbines - For example, the ones above Caton which were replaced with much bigger turbines and dominate the skyline for miles around.  

 

WIND POWER AND THE ENVIRONMENT

 

“Do wind farms reduce CO2 emissions”?  MARGINALLY: Developers and the British Wind Energy Association have often claimed that 0.86 tonnes of CO2 is saved for every megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity generated by wind. DEFRA, BERR (DTI), Ofgem, the Carbon Trust, and Government do not accept this and use a figure of 0.43t/MWh or even less). Recent press releases from the Energy Minister in the House of Commons (e.g. that relating to the Fulkabrook Down wind farm in Devon) have used even lower figure of just 0.36t/MWh.

 

The use of the figure 0.43t/MWh for calculating the lifetime savings of a wind farm is supported by the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA has upheld several complaints from the public against Renewable Energy Systems Ltd and nPower Renewables for providing misleading information to the public. Such exaggerated claims represent serious misrepresentation by the wind industry.

 

 “Wind Power can replace Nuclear Power”.  FALSE! Nuclear power stations produce constant power (known as ‘base-load’) essential for our Western life-style for 24/7 all the year round. Wind is an unreliable ‘bit player’ on the energy scene. It would take 1,500 wind turbines spread over 20 square kilometres to produce the same electricity as a 1,000 megawatt nuclear power station – even then it could not provide base load because it has to rely on the wind blowing.

 

 Wind farms are often sited on uplands which contain some of England’s last tracts of wilderness greatly valued by wildlife and people. Such areas are a major breeding, over-wintering or migration area for birds, including declining species such as the Hen Harrier, Merlin, Skylark and Lapwing. These will be directly threatened by inappropriately sited wind farms.

 

 In 2001 Government gave greater protection to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). So it is perverse to allow wind farms in or adjacent to AONBs or National Parks. English Heritage and The Council for National Parks emphasise the importance of the ‘setting’ of such landscapes: Windfarms greatly degrade the setting of AONBs and National Parks.

 

 A turbine 375 feet high requires a base of 1000 tons of reinforced concrete and steel, plus the materials needed for service roads. They can often pay back the CO2 this releases in 6-18 months. However, on peat-rich sites pay-back is years longer caused by CO2 release due to drying out and oxidation after drainage ditches are cut. This reduces yet further any wind farm contribution to climate change.

 

THE ROLE OF ENERGY SAVING MEASURES

 

 UK electricity usage has grown steadily at 1.5% a year since 1990. By 2020 it is expected to increase by another 15%. Wind power cannot satisfy this growth let alone reduce overall usage. Worldwide, demand for electricity is expected to double by 2050.

 

 We could massively reduce CO2 emissions by using less electricity and giving incentives for increased efficiency, more investment in energy saving technology, the development of other ‘green’ energy generating systems (tidal, wave, solar, hydro, biomass, heat pumps), or investing in nuclear power stations which produce almost no CO2. ‘Clean coal’, where CO2 is captured and stored instead of entering the atmosphere, may also become a reality in the medium term.

 

  A recent upgrade to the Building Regulations made far too little attempt to increase the energy efficiency of new houses – of which 3 million are planned by 2020. This issue is beginning to be addressed by the government , for example with its ‘ecotowns’ which will have very little CO2 emissions.

 

  If every home used one additional low energy light bulb, one conventional power station could be decommissioned. If every home reduced its electricity use by 10% the CO2 saved would be about 8.4 million tonnes per year. The Carbon Trust Business Action Plan (Jan. 2nd 2008) could save 11 million tonnes of CO2 a year. These two actions would save 20 million tonnes of CO2 - over twice the Government’s annual target (9.2 million tonnes) for 2010 - and no wind farms would be needed at all.

 

  Alternative renewables have significant long-term potential but need much greater investment, financial incentives and political vision for their development and deployment. This is likely to take the form of micro-generation in which each household or locality has its own renewable electricity supply – supported as required by the National Grid.

GOVERNMENT POLICY

 

 Only recently has the Government begun to develop a “joined-up” energy policy linking fossil, nuclear and renewable sources. It is placing undue reliance on natural gas imports from unstable countries now that the UK’s gas is running out. Existing nuclear and coal-fired power stations are approaching decommissioning. The new nuclear building programme just announced could greatly reduce the need for intrusive and divisive wind farms.

 

To encourage private investment the Government has manipulated local planning procedures and is now seeking to allow the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders to gain access to wind farm sites.

ECONOMIC ISSUES

 

Tourism . Cumbria has 19 million visitors a year which accounts for £1.1 billion (18%) of Cumbria’s GDP and 30,000 jobs. A DTI (BERR) Small Business Council report (2006) and a recent report for the Scottish Government (The economic impacts of wind farms on Scottish Tourism - March 2008) estimates that wind farms in tourist areas are likely to reduce visitor numbers by up to 15%. A high price to pay for a poor return.

 

“Don’t wind farms create jobs”? NO. There may be some local jobs in the 6-18 month construction phase but wind farms are remotely monitored, often from abroad. Maintenance generates about 2 jobs for every 10 turbines, paltry by comparison with tourism.

 

Subsidies. Sweden and The Netherlands have scrapped wind subsidies. Norway didn’t provide any. Germany realises that wind power is a “bottomless subsidy pit”. Wind works in Denmark ONLY because it has power lines to Sweden, Norway and Germany for grid balancing – not so in the UK.

 

 Cost of CO2 savings. Wind power is one of the most costly methods by which to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as pointed out by the Government’s Audit Commission. In fact Professor Dieter Helm, an Oxford Economist and Government advisor, has suggested that the cost of CO2 savings by the use of wind power could be as high as £280-£510 per tonne – which is a scandal. On top of this, the Energy Minister admitted in an answer to a question in Parliament (January 10th 2008) that the added cost of connecting the already approved wind farms to the National Grid will be £10.6 billion by 2012. Who do you think will pay for it? Correct!

UPDATE

The BWEA published what it called the ‘Top Myths about Wind Energy’ (1-15) and what it claimed were the true ‘facts’. Follow this link to read what they say and a rebuttal of the claims they make.

We make the facts on this page as accurate as possible, but industry sources are notably reluctant to provide consistent information. By all means question the foregoing, but also question just as closely anything put out by those favouring wind power.