Think-tank blasted over "flawed" wind power report

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A think-tank report has been attacked after claiming the UK's focus on generating wind power is preventing the nation from effectively reducing CO2 emissions. The Civitas report, authored by economist Ruth Lea, claims wind-power is unreliable and requires back-up power stations to be available in order to maintain a consistent electricity supply to households and businesses. "This means that energy users pay twice," it argues. “Once for the window-dressing of renewables, and again for the fossil fuels that the energy sector continues to rely on. Contrary to the implied message of the Government's approach, the analysis shows that wind-power is not a low-cost way of reducing emissions."

A think-tank report has been attacked after claiming the UK's focus on generating wind power is preventing the nation from effectively reducing CO2 emissions. The Civitas report, authored by economist Ruth Lea, claims wind-power is unreliable and requires back-up power stations to be available in order to maintain a consistent electricity supply to households and businesses. "This means that energy users pay twice," it argues. "Once for the window-dressing of renewables, and again for the fossil fuels that the energy sector continues to rely on. Contrary to the implied message of the Government's approach, the analysis shows that wind-power is not a low-cost way of reducing emissions."

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But the report and its author have come under fire for using subjective, non-qualified research and inaccurate assumptions to wildly inflate the cost of wind energy.

The author of the "Electricity Costs: the folly of wind-power", Ruth Lea ,has an erratic and inconsistent track record and no proven specialism in the energy industry.

But she claims to have used Government-commissioned estimates of the costs of electricity generation in the UK to calculate the most cost-effective technologies. She concludes that when all costs are included, gas-fired power is the most cost-efficient method of generating electricity in the short-term, while nuclear power stations become the most cost-efficient in the medium-term.

For further information: http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/123012-think-tank-blasted-over-%5Cflawed%5C-wind-power-report.html

Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Modern_windmills_at_sunset.jpg