Wind sector blasts Conservative manifesto
Bad news: The wind sector has been left angered by the Conservatives’ election
pledge to stop the development of new onshore wind farms
The Conservative party’s election pledge to halt the development of new onshore
wind farms has been branded ‘idiotic’ and ‘illogical’ by members of the UK wind
sector
he party’s 2015 manifesto argues
that cutting carbon emissions
‘as cost effectively as possible’
would be a new Conservative
government’s chief driving force whilst
nuclear and gas generation capacity would be
expanded significantly.
It also argues that halting the spread of
wind farms is justifiable due to a lack of public
support, and an unpredictability of supply to
the National Grid.
These claims have brought a barrage
of criticism from the sector and claims from
trade body RenewableUK that the Tories
have glossed over numerous reports which
point to high levels of public support for the
technology.
“The Conservatives’ manifesto
spectacularly fails to recognise the high level
of support among ordinary voters for onshore
wind, which stays consistently at two-thirds
of the British public,” said deputy chief
executive, Maf Smith.
T
The Tories are proposing
to deprive voters of one of
the most effective means of
keeping all our electricity
bills down
“They’re seriously misinformed in their
suggestion that wind power can’t provide
firm capacity – the experts at National Grid
say there’s no problem in taking maximum
advantage of wind whenever it’s available,
which can now be predicted with pinpoint
accuracy.”
Pushing up bills
He added: “Onshore wind is one of the
cheapest of all sources of energy, so by
turning their backs on it, the Tories are
proposing to deprive voters of one of the
most effective means of keeping all our
electricity bills down. So when the Tories
claim in their manifesto that they intend to
cut carbon emissions as cost-effectively as
possible they’re being breathtakingly illogical
and therefore idiotic.”
Ian Marchant, chairman of Infinis Energy
Plc, on behalf of the British Wind partnership
of independent generators and suppliers,
agreed that failure to support an already low
cost technology would not be a cost-effective
strategy leaving taxpayers to subsidise more
expensive forms of generation.
“Failing to harness the full potential of
onshore wind will be bad news for British
billpayers, costing hundreds of millions
of pounds every year in more expensive
alternative technologies.
Costly mistake
“Onshore wind is already the cheapest large-
scale renewable generation source in the UK
and industry is committed to reducing costs
further.
“It is supported by 70 percent of the
public, an approval rating higher than any of
the political leaders or parties.
“It adds more than £600 million to the
British economy every year while employing
more than half of those working in the
renewable sector; and supports projects in
local communities through millions of pounds
of funding every year.”
Recipe for disaster
Greenpeace UK chief scientist Dr Doug Parr
also delivered a stinging assessment of the
policy announcement pointing to apparent
double standards over the party’s contrasting
receptiveness to local opposition over
renewables and fracking.
He said: “The Tory manifesto pledge
on energy is a recipe for higher consumer
bills. Onshore wind is the cheapest form of
low-carbon power. Stopping it whilst also
committing to cutting carbon emissions
only means we’ll have to invest in more
expensive sources of clean energy, driving
up bills.
“The Tories’ double standards and
ideological bias are embarrassingly obvious.
They’ll champion localism when it comes
to wind farms, but they’ll run roughshod
over local people’s concerns when it’s about
fracking.”
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