Does the production of wind energy reduce emissions of carbon dioxide?
The use of wind to generate electricity does not produce CO2 —in that respect wind energy is clean and “green”. However, as I have explained above, to offset wind fluctuations and balance the power supply on the network it is necessary to continue operating fossil-fuelled plants at 60 per cent capacity, cranking them up and down as required—and under those conditions those plants produce more CO2 per kWh than they do when they are running at 100 per cent capacity.
