Sections of the power industry – including voices from the renewables sector itself – have lined up with business leaders to warn the government of the perils of backing wind too strongly in today’s carbon change whitepaper.
Power technology experts and tidal energy specialists joined the CBI in urging caution ahead of the expected announcement of a major expansion of the
The CBI believes that the
In a report issued ahead of today’s UK Low Carbon Transition Plan whitepaper, the CBI referred to the government’s existing energy policy as being ‘disjointed’, claiming that more nuclear power stations need to be built if the
John Cridland, CBI deputy director general, said: ‘Large chunks of our energy infrastructure urgently need replacing. While we have generous subsidies for wind power, we urgently need the national planning statements needed to build new nuclear plants. If we carry on like this, we will end up putting too many of our energy eggs in one basket.’
The CBI warned that, unless its recommendations are followed, the
The group claims that its ‘Balanced Pathway’ plan would lead to 83 per cent of the
Other industry figures claim that wind provides only part of the low-carbon energy solution, while concerns remain about funding for other forms of renewable energy.
Earlier this month, engineering consultancy Pöyry published a report warning against too much reliance on wind power due to volatile weather patterns. However, planning permission is also a key concern in the uptake of renewable energy within the timeframes set out by the government.
Steve Armitage, commercial vice-president at SmartestEnergy, said: ‘It’s not just the technological side with
‘The government needs a broader-based planning regime. From a grid connection perspective, there needs to be much more dialogue between the distribution operators and the government with respect to what government’s trying to achieve and where,’ he added.
Armitage claimed that grid connections for renewable technologies such as wind turbines can be difficult and expensive. They also suffer from irregular energy output.
‘If you have a cement furnace, you can’t just turn that furnace on and off when the wind blows. Energy-intensive large industry users need base-load power and wind is not really going to give them what they need,’ he said.
Armitage added that the government’s focus on wind is based on risk aversion rather than industry needs: ‘We must not forget we are in a credit-constrained environment and funding of projects is very difficult to find. Any debt-finance project is going to be risk-averse, which tends to lead you down to the wind route.’
Marine Current Turbines also argued that the government’s strategy is misled, claiming that its investment in wind power has been at the expense of other promising technologies such as marine energy.
Managing director Martin Wright said: ‘The current investment climate is the worst in living memory and, following the announcement to increase the ROC multiple to two for offshore wind, there is effectively no market to pull marine energy forward.
‘It will be vital that the government addresses this is in its Renewable Energy Strategy Review and takes urgent action. If not, there is a significant risk that tidal power will suffer the same fate that befell the British wind industry: no home-grown manufacturing and engineering jobs,’ he added.
Ellie Zolfagharifard
This is typical of the short-sighted views of this government. How often in recent years have we seen the same approach to many other industries, often to their, and the country’s detriment?
Any basic infrastructure needs to be versatile and adaptable; it is nothing more than common sense. While wind energy has a future we also have to keep a balance, particularly in power generation.
While the country has to provide its power from importing energy supplies we are also at the mercy of many other countries. This is not a good scenario, particularly when the knock on effects could be dire to the entire country’s industries.
Coal or nuclear stations need keeping on a tick-over basis to provide a proportion of our energy needs and step up production at very short notice.
Many of us are of an age to remember the three day week, and the constant power cuts, and the devastation it wreaked upon British industry generally, something I, and many others wish to avoid in the future.