Wind Energy

Busting the myths of wind energy

These are some of the myths of wind energy that are thoroughly debunked by a new website set up by British Wind power at
www.british-wind.co.uk. The sentiments above are the type of ill-conceived, badly-informed ideas on wind energy that newspaper readers are subjected to with increasing frequency in the British media.

As British Wind says, “We need wind because our old coal and nuclear plants face closure, and there is no better alternative to provide energy security. Other energy sources are either imported, more expensive, emit more carbon, or will take so long to build that they will not fill the looming energy gap. Wind power on the other hand is secure, clean and quick to build. Britain’s inexhaustible supplies of wind energy will keep bills down for homes and industry as foreign gas prices continue to go up. At the same time wind power creates jobs and investment, putting the UK at the forefront of the green economy”.

Unfortunately, this message can be lost in the noise created by those with an anti-wind agenda, such as earlier this year, when “findings” from a report claiming that ‘wind power is expensive and yet is not effective in cutting CO2 emissions’ and that ‘there is no economic case for wind-power’ were parroted by parts of the UK media.

On their website British Wind also provide an FAQ section on wind energy, answering important questions like “How can wind power keep prices down in the future?”, “Have gas prices really trebled since 2002?” and “Isn’t wind as unreliable as importing gas from places like Russia?”. This site is an important resource for the public and media alike, both of whom should be able to make up their minds about wind energy based on accurate information.

Tom Rowe, blog.ewea.org/