South East

Governments are under pressure to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

So they've come up with an idea to generate lots of clean electricity using wind farms.

An old coal fired power station.

Over the next 10 years we're going to lose a third of our conventional power stations as they reach the end of their working lives.

Experts say that we're not building enough new power stations to replace them.

Instead, wind turbines are sprouting up all over the place including Romney Marsh and off the coast of Whitstable in Kent.

There are plans by the government to build lots more but not everybody agrees this is a good idea.

Professor Ian Fells claims the plans could cost at least £100 billion over a decade.

He thinks we're throwing far too much money into wind and not enough into other forms of renewable energy...

But the British Wind Power Association has a different view.

Maria McCaffery presents her views...

Can electricity from wind contribute a significant portion to our nation's electricity supply?

The answer is yes it can, and it inevitably will.

Maria McCaffery - pro wind power.

Since 2007 UK's wind energy capacity has supplied more electricity to the grid than hydro power.

There are now also a further 8.8 GW of wind energy projects either in construction or with planning consent - enough to satisfy the annual electricity needs of 5 million UK households.

However, even when we add the 3.2 GW of existing capacity to the imminent 8.8 GW, we will barely begin to harness this free and sustainable source of energy.

In 2008 the UK signed up to ambitious EU targets to reduce our carbon emissions, and given that our wind resources are the best in Europe, by 2020 we could be powering every UK home with energy from wind, thus achieving our target of getting 15% of all our energy from renewables.

Fighting climate change

Apart from helping fight climate change, wind can also help deliver the three things that we as a country so sorely need in these economically challenging times: jobs, savings and investments.

The push to decarbonise our electricity supply will create an estimated 60,000 jobs in the next decade.

Old style power station

Greater contribution from wind will drive down spot electricity prices, as it is already doing in Europe, resulting in savings to consumers.

Finally, investment: the roll out of the wind programme will stimulate many of our languishing industrial sectors.

Just to build the turbines we need by 2020 will require 3.5 million tonnes of cast iron and steel, plus the assembling facilities, ports, harbours, vessels and logistics.

Should we not be working harder to secure these opportunities for our economy, instead of being drawn into fruitless debates by the detractors of wind energy, particularly as other countries are powering ahead?

Lessons from overseas

The USA is now the leading country in the world in terms of installed capacity, having overtaken Germany in 2008.

Spain has been getting up to 26% of its electricity from wind this winter and Ireland 35%, while Denmark has for years now been sourcing a quarter of its electricity from its own wind farms.

Shape of things to come?

From our pole position in the 1980's we have now been overtaken by countries not even on the horizon a few decades ago, and we were able to claw back some of the lost ground only recently.

We have an opportunity to achieve in the next couple of decades something that could stand us proud: to secure our energy supply, weaning ourselves from non-EU imports of oil and gas; to reiterate our commitment to renewable energy and regain our position as a world class player in the emerging low carbon economy; and to offer the UK economy a shot in the arm through jobs, investments and energy savings.

Don't let anyone convince us to pass on this once in a generation opportunity.

Maria McCaffery MBE, Chief Executive of the British Wind Energy Association.