Wind turbines now create one-sixth of UK electricity
GREEN energy companies set a new record last year by producing 29.4 per cent of the UK’s electricity, according to a leading trade association.
The figure represents the annual electricity demand of 25.3 million homes, said RenewableUK.
Wind power alone generated nearly 15 per cent of the nation’s electricity in 2017, the equivalent of powering 12.7 million households.
It marks a dramatic increase from 10 years ago when wind power accounted for just 1.5 per cent of electricity.
In another sign of Britain’s changing energy markets, Government figures show that renewable output – including wind, solar, biogas and hydro – is now nearly 10 times higher than coal.
Blots
As recently as 2012 coal-fired plants produced more electricity than all renewables put together.
The shift stems from Britain moving to cleaner, greener energy and shutting down coal-fired power stations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against climate change.
But the spread of wind farms in particular has proved controversial, with critics branding them unreliable and blots on the landscape.
Benny Peiser of the Global Warming Policy Forum said: “The problem with wind power is not how much it generates but how much it does not generate when there is no wind. We need electricity 24/7 so you still need conventional generation as back-up.”
Campaigners at Country Guardian said: “Wind turbines cannot generate enough energy to reduce global carbon dioxide levels to a meaningful degree.
“There are also ecological drawbacks, including damage to habitats, wildlife, and the far-from-insignificant assault upon natural beauty.”
RenewableUK chief Emma Pinchbeck said: “The move to a smart, renewables-led energy system is well underway.
“The cost of new offshore wind halved in 2017 and onshore wind is already the cheapest of any new UK power source.”
However, she said it was “vital, for the sake of consumers” that new onshore windfarms should be allowed to bid for lucrative Government contracts which they were barred from doing in 2015.
Lawrence Slade, CEO of industry body Energy UK, said: “The 2017 figures confirm the ever increasing contribution low carbon and renewable generation are making – not just to powering our homes and businesses but to reducing overall emissions in the UK.
“We need to keep up the pace, however, by ensuring that the lowest cost renewables are no longer excluded from the market – and through other sectors like transport and heating following the energy industry’s lead in reducing emissions.”