How Much Wind Power?
Earlier this week, the UK’s Confederation of British Industry called on the government not to rely heavily on wind power in its energy planning. Reacting to today’s announcements, Maria McCaffery MBE, chief executive of the British Wind Energy Association, said: “We welcome the government’s commitment to delivering on the 2020 targets. They have rightly ignored the siren calls to abandon wind as the driving force for reaching the targets. The RES provides a clear routemap for the growth of a new £60 billion (US $96 billion) industry and the creation of 60,000 UK jobs. However, industry is now looking for a cross-party consensus on the detail of delivery. This will help convince investors that the country is serious about fighting climate change and developing domestic, renewable sources of energy.” The British Wind Energy Association has calculated that, based on the figures in last year’s draft strategy, this implies that 22% of all electricity will come from offshore and onshore wind
