Tilting at Windfarms
Posted by Julian Reeves, 11 December 2009 11:18:56
Whenever I’m out and about, meeting people and talking about energy, there’s one topic which always divides opinion right down the middle - windfarms. No one sits on the fence, they either love them or they loathe them.
Pro-windfarm individuals talk about the clean renewable energy they provide, about harnessing the elements to power our homes instead of using fossil fuels and damaging the planet with carbon. Those opposed to windfarms will tell you that windfarms don’t produce any meaningful amount of electricity but will ruin our countryside and heritage sites.
And whilst they debate the pros and cons, others are already proving the worth of wind turbines. For instance, Spain was celebrating its commitment to renewable energy last month after wind turbines dotted across the country produced more than half of all its electricity for the first time.
High winds across Spain last month meant that for over five hours, over 53 per cent of the country’s power came from wind energy. The towering white wind turbines which loom over Castilla-La Mancha, home to Cervantes’ fictional hero Don Quixote, and elsewhere in Spain, set a new record in wind energy production.
Most of the wind power was used immediately, 6 per cent was stored and 7.7 per cent was exported to France, Portugal and Morocco. So it does work.and business is starting to pick up as people take notice. Ikea, the Swedish home goods retailer, and Google, the American internet giant, are among a growing list of companies that are considering investing in Britain’s offshore wind industry, according to the papers this week.
To meet its target of cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 compared with 1990, Britain has launched a programme to expand its offshore wind farms, already the world’s biggest at about one gigawatt, to between 33 and 40 gigawatts by 2020. Atlantic’s parent company, SSE is committed to producing renewable energy from wind power, and already generates 720 megawatts from windfarms. Current projects being built will produce a further 550 megawatts, and together will be able to meet the electricity needs of over 1 million homes.*
It’s always interesting to hear people’s views on windfarms, whether you live near one or not. It looks like they’re here to stay, what do you think?
*based on an average annual consumption of 3,300kWh (units) of electricity.