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 British
Energy announced its plans to create the world’s biggest wind farm
in Lewis, Scotland. It could include up to 300 turbines and have
the potential to generate 600 megawatts of power. The news of this
came the same week in December 2001 as when the government gave
the go-ahead to two more wind farms; one in southern Scotland and
the other in Cefn Croes in Wales. We look at the reasons why there
is a drive towards wind power in the UK.
Renewable sources
of energy like wind and hydro power currently generate 2.8% of the
UK’s electricity supply. The government is aiming to increase this
to 10% by 2010, in line with the targets set by the Kyoto conference
on global warming.
The industrialised
world agreed in 1999 at Kyoto that they should reduce carbon dioxide
emissions by five percent by 2010. One way to do this is to use
less fossil fuel generated electricity, which emits CO2.
In support of
this, the UK government announced its Renewables Obligation in October
2000. It says that 10% of the sources that electricity suppliers
use should be renewable. In April 2001, the Climate Charge Levy
came into force, effectively taxing business use of electricity
generated from fossil or nuclear fuel. It’s hoped that both these
policies will create a demand for renewable energy sources.
Those who are
in support of wind farms say they make good use of the one thing
the UK has in plentiful supply: "We have lots of wind. It’s cheap
and you can’t go to war over it," says Nick Goodall chief executive
of the British Wind Energy Association.
 And
Lewis, in the Western Isles of Scotland, is considered a prime spot:
"The wind comes straight from the Atlantic ocean and there are no
hills to break it," says Dr Richard Dixon, Friends of the Earth’s
head of research. He adds that: "Some of the highest wind speeds
recorded in the UK were in Lewis." If they reached gale force, however,
the turbines would have to be shut down for safety reasons.
Lewis is also
close to the big waves of the Atlantic. Experts are hoping to harness
them and develop wave generated energy from there.
However, one
of the drawbacks of wind or wave power is they rely on the elements
which can not be guaranteed: "In the last few days of cold weather
we’ve had high pressure with very little wind," says Angela Kelly,
chairperson for the Country Guardian. "I’m glad we don’t have to
rely on wind power."
Unlike coal
or nuclear generated electricity, wind or wave power can not yet
be stored. This means that we still have to use a combination of
energy sources, including electricity from coal power stations.
Therefore, the
Country Guardian argues that having wind farms does not necessarily
mean that our carbon dioxide emissions go down: "Last year (2000),
in spite of having nearly 900 wind turbines, UK CO2 emissions actually
increased by two per cent," says Angela Kelly. "This was because
of the rise in gas prices and consequent increase in the use of
cheaper fossil-fuelled electricity."
But the push
to use more renewable energy continues. The British Wind Energy
Association promises on their website that in 2002 we'll see new
wind farms contributing 188 megawatts to the national grid. We await
developments.
Related links:
Renewable Energy - Wind
Responding to Climate Change
British
Wind Energy Association
The
Country Guardian
Friend's
of the Earth: Scotland
British
Energy
(The BBC is not responsible for the content of external
websites)
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