Hugh McNeal admits no more wind turbines should be built in England due to lack of wind | By Victoria Finan For Mailonline | 5 June 2016 | www.dailymail.co.uk
The chief executive of the UK’s top wind industry trade body has admitted that more turbine projects in England aren’t viable – because it isn’t windy enough.
Hugh McNeal, of RenewableUK, made the astonishing admission but did say that projects should still take place in other parts of the UK.
Mr McNeal said that new projects were ‘very unlikely’ apart from those which have received subsidies and are waiting for construction.
He said: ‘We are almost certainly not talking about the possibility of new plants in England. The project economics wouldn’t work; the wind speeds don’t allow for it.’
The Conservative government has already implemented its pledge to end wind farm subsidies, and Mr McNeal said its his job to convince people that wind energy is still the cheapest form of new energy generation.
Government research suggests that there is still 425 megawatts of capacity in England in the turbine planning system, but this is far less than in Scotland, reported The Telegraph.
There are 4,000 onshore wind turbines already powering 4million homes, with another 3,000 granted planning permission
There are 4,000 onshore wind turbines already powering 4million homes, with another 3,000 granted planning permission
The Conservatives have ended the controversial system of offering subsidies for landowners who agree to have a turbine built on their land.
The chief executive of ScottishPower Renewables, Keith Anderson, said that he believed a solution could be removing small old turbines to replace them with more powerful ones.
The director of policy and research at the Renewable Energy Foundation, John Constable, said: ‘There has to be grid expansion to remove bottlenecks, short-term response plant and/or demand, and the cost of operating a conventional fleet of almost unchanged size to guarantee security of supply.’
There are 4,000 onshore wind turbines already powering 4million homes, with another 3,000 granted planning permission.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/06/05/wind-turbine-boss-admits-no-more-should-be-built-in-england-because-it-isnt-windy-enough/