Wind is free but its energy is expensive

Love them or loathe them wind farms, seem to be everywhere. Travel round the country and the hills are alive with gently turning blades. For all the energy they produce, the cost to both our pockets as consumers and our eyes as viewers’, are going to take several generations to swallow. These are first generation wind turbines, the Model T Fords of the 21st century. As innovation progresses in this industry we may be able to look forward to super efficient wind turbines in our own gardens, churning out free energy that we could give away to our neighbours. But not yet!
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Mar 2012, 08:58 BST

There is now a groundswell of public opinion that has realised that the wind does not blow all the time. For each turbine built, the country needs conventional energy sources to fill in during the times when there is little or no wind. The nominal amount of electricity gained, is offset by the astronomical installation costs and even higher tariff paid to the generator, when the wind blows. In the event that conventional power supplies cannot be switched off in time, the wind operator gets paid even more not to produce electricity. We all know the wind is free. The product of that wind is paid for out of our pockets at three times the cost of conventional generation.

The previous Government’s decision to kick start a whole new industry, “provided the consumer pays” has lined the pockets of venture capital companies and Chinese manufacturers and ruined the views across much of our wilder countryside. The Localism Bill comes into force February 2012, whilst much of the bill needs clear interpretation over a period, it has opened the way for local planning authorities to change their policies where wind derived energy is concerned.

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Stratford district has a bludgeoning wind industry keen to decimate Shakespeare Country, on sites near houses in valleys. Five turbines on one farm have a current application and a further 37 are in prospect, all within 10 miles of Southam. Stratford District Council has been one of the first planning authorities to take up the challenge. It has strengthened landscape considerations, further protected the district ecology and favours other forms of renewable energy. Its new policies are now going through the evaluation and implementation process, and should be implemented within weeks.

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Finally we have some means to stop the decimation of our countryside in the name of green energy. It’s not green and it is not cheap and it does not produce much electricity. It is very good indeed for the developers pocket and wonderful for the landowner. The wind is free, the energy what little it produces, is not, it’s very expensive, indeed. - Cllr Richard Hamburger, Neals Close Harbury.

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