Index!
1. Will tens of thousands of wind turbines be cluttering the British countryside? click here
2. Will wind farms help climate change? click here
3. Does building a wind farm take more energy than it ever makes? click here
4. Are wind farms only operational 30% of the time, and does this make them inefficient?click here
5. Does wind energy need back-up (sometimes known as 'spinning reserve') to work? click here
6. Is it true that building wind farms will never shut other power stations? click here
7. Is wind power is expensive?click here
8. Should the UK invest in other renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency instead of wind power?click here
9. Should wind farms be all put out at sea? click here
10. Are wind farms ugly and unpopular? click here
11. Will wind farms affect tourism negatively?click here
References
Q: Will tens of thousands of wind turbines be cluttering the British countryside?
A: Government legislation requires that by 2010, 10% of electricity supply must
come from renewable sources. Wind power is currently the most cost effective renewable
energy source in a position to help do that. Around 3,500 of additional modern wind
turbines are all that would be needed to deliver 8% of the UK's electricity by 2010,
roughly 2,000 onshore and 1,500 offshore.
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Q: Will wind farms help climate change?
A: Wind power is a clean, renewable source of energy which produces no greenhouse
gas emissions or waste products. The UK currently emits 560 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
(CO2), the key greenhouse gas culprit, every year and the Government target
is to cut this by 60% by 20501. Power stations are the largest contributor to carbon
emissions, producing 170 million tonnes of CO2 each year2. We need to switch
to forms of energy that do not produce CO2. Just one modern wind turbine
will save over 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually 3.
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Q: Does building a wind farm take more energy than it ever makes?
A: The average wind farm will pay back the energy used in its manufacture
within 6-9 months of operation4. This compares favourably with coal or nuclear power
stations, which take about six months. A modern wind turbine is designed to operate
for more than 20 years and at the end of its working life, the area can be restored
at low financial and environmental costs. Wind energy is a form of development which
is essentially reversible - in contrast to fossil fuel or nuclear power stations.
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Q: Are wind farms only operational 30% of the time, and does this make them inefficient?
A: A modern wind turbine produces electricity 70-85% of the time, but it generates
different outputs dependent on wind speed. Over the course of a year, it will generate
about 30% of the theoretical maximum output. This is known as its load factor. The load
factor of conventional power stations is on average 50%5. A modern wind turbine will
generate enough to meet the electricity demands of more than a thousand homes
over the course of a year.
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Q: Does wind energy need back-up (sometimes known as 'spinning reserve') to work?
A: All forms of power generation require back up and no energy technology
can be relied upon 100%. The UK's transmission system already operates with enough back-up
to manage the instantaneous loss of a large power station. Variations in the output from
wind farms are barely noticeable over and above the normal fluctuation in supply and
demand, seen when the nation's workforce goes home, or if lightning brings down a
high-voltage transmission line. Therefore, at present there is no need for additional
back-up because of wind energy.
Even for wind power to provide 10% of our nation's electricity needs, only
a small amount of additional conventional back-up would be required, in the region
of 300-500 MW. This would add only 0.2 pence per kilowatt hour to the generation cost
of wind energy and would not in any way threaten the security of our grid6. In fact, this
is unlikely to become a significant issue until wind generates over 20% of total
electricity supply.
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Q: Is it true that building wind farms will never shut other power stations?
A: The simple fact is that power plants in the UK are being shut
down either through European legislation on emissions or sheer old age. We need to act
now to find replacement power sources: wind is an abundant resource, indigenous to the
UK and therefore has a vital role to play in the new energy portfolio.
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Q: Is wind power is expensive?
A: The cost of generating electricity from wind has fallen dramatically
over the past few years. Between 1990 and 2002, world wind energy capacity doubled every
three years and with every doubling prices fell by 15%7. Wind energy is competitive
with new coal and new nuclear capacity, even before any environmental costs of fossil
fuel and nuclear generation8 are taken into account. The average cost of generating
electricity from onshore wind is now around 3-4p per kilowatt hour, competitive with
new coal (2.5-4.5p) and cheaper than new nuclear (4-7p)9. As gas prices increase
and wind power costs fall - both of which are very likely - wind becomes even more
competitive, so much so that some time after 2010 wind should challenge gas as the lowest cost power source.
Furthermore, the wind is a free and widely available fuel source, therefore once the
wind farm is in place, there are no fuel or waste related costs.
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Q: Should the UK invest in other renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency instead of wind power?
A: Wind energy's role in combating climate change is not a matter of
either-or. The UK will need a mix of new and existing renewable energy technologies and
energy efficiency measures, and as quickly as possible. Significant amounts of investment
have been allocated for wave and tidal energy development, and these technologies, along
with solar and biomass energy, will have an important role in the UK's future energy mix.
However, wind energy is the most cost effective renewable energy source available to
generate clean electricity and help combat climate change right now. Furthermore,
developing a strong wind industry will facilitate other renewable technologies which
have not reached commercialisation yet, accumulating valuable experience in dealing
with issues such as grid connection, supply chain and finance.
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Q: Should wind farms be all put out at sea?
A: We will need a mix of both onshore and offshore wind energy to meet
the UK's challenging targets on climate change. At present, onshore wind is more economical
than development offshore. However, more offshore wind farms are now under construction,
with the first of the large-scale projects operational at the end of 2003, and prices
will fall as the industry gains more experience. Furthermore, offshore wind farms will
take longer to develop, as the sea is inherently a more hostile environment. To expect
offshore to be the only form of wind generation allowed would therefore be to condemn
us to missing our renewable energy targets and commitment to tackle climate change.
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Q: Are wind farms ugly and unpopular?
A: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and whether you think a wind
turbine is attractive or not will always be your personal opinion. However, studies
regularly show that most people find turbines an interesting feature of the landscape10.
On average 80% of the public support wind energy, less than 10% are against it, the
remainder are undecided. Surveys conducted since the early 1990's across the country
near existing wind farms have consistently found that most people are in favour of wind
energy11, with support increasing among those living near existing wind farms.
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Q: Will wind farms affect tourism negatively?
A: There is no evidence to suggest this. The UK's first commercial wind farm
at Delabole received 350,000 visitors in its first ten years of operation. A MORI poll
in Scotland showed that 80% of tourists would be interested in visiting a wind farm.
Furthermore, wind farm developers are often asked to provide a visitor centre, viewing
platforms and rights of way to their sites.
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References (Back to index)
- Energy White Paper (2003), Our Energy Future - Creating a Low Carbon Economy, available online at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/ourenergyfuture.pdf.
Back to text - DTI (2004),
Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2004, Table 5.10 Plant
loads, demand and efficiency, available online at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy_stats/electricity/dukes5_10.xls
Back to text - BWEA calculations at http://www.bwea.com/edu/calcs.html.
Back to text - Milborrow, Dispelling the Myths of Energy Payback Time, as published in Windstats, vol 11, no 2 (Spring 1998).
Back to text - DTI (2004),
Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2004, Table 5.10 Plant
loads, demand and efficiency, available online at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy_stats/electricity/dukes5_10.xls
Back to text - See The Carbon
Trust and DTI (2004), Renewables Network Impact Study; National Grid
(2004), Seven Year Statement, available online at: www.nationalgrid.com/uk/library/.
Back to text - Milborrow, D (2003), The Economics of Wind Energy, WREN International Seminar.
Back to text - ExternE (2003)
External Costs, Research Results on Socio-Environmental Damages due to
Electricity and Transport, available online at: http://www.externe.info/externpr.pdf.
Back to text - See PIU (2002), Renewables Innovation Review, available online at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/policy/oxeraresults.pdf ; Hansard, 21 June 2004, Column 1225W, available online at: http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/cm040621/text/40621w14.htm
; Oxera (2003), The Non-market value of Generation Technologies ; Oxera
(2004), Results Of Renewables Market Modelling ; DTI (2003), Economics
Paper No 4 ; Milborrow D, Becoming Respectable in Serious Circles,
Windpower Monthly, Jan 2004.
Back to text - RBA (1998),
Stroud District Residents Survey, RBA for Triodos Bank, The
Gloucestershire Water & Energy Forum, BWEA and Western Windpower.
Back to text - For latest
national study, please see TNS (2003), Attitudes and Knowledge of
Renewable Energy amongst the General Public, On behalf of: Department
of Trade and Industry, Scottish Executive, National Assembly for Wales
and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Northern Ireland.
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