PM’S WIND POWER PLEDGE UNDER FIRE

He can’t meet target to turn every home green by 2030 claim critics

Doubts were expressed last night about boris Johnson’s ability to deliver his promise to power every home with offshore wind by 2030.

the Prime Minister pledged £160million to help upgrade ports and factories to ensure that 40 gigawatts of electricity comes from turbines in the sea by the end of the decade.

but industry leaders said much more Government action was required to make the target a reality. And Labour said the target was less than half the capacity needed for homes by the end of the decade.

the Green Party also questioned how the 3,000 new turbines would be funded, suggesting the true cost could be £48billion.

Mr Johnson announced his plans in his tory conference speech yesterday – and criticised his past comments attacking wind farms. He said: ‘I remember how some people used to sneer at wind power, 20 years ago, and say that it wouldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding.

‘they forgot the history of this country. It was offshore wind that puffed the sails of Drake and Raleigh and Nelson, and propelled this country to commercial greatness.’

the rice pudding comment was made by Mr Johnson himself seven years ago when he said: ‘Labour put in a load of wind farms that

‘We need to step up the pace and scale’

failed to pull the skin off a rice pudding.’ there is currently just under 10.5GW of wind in the seas around the uK, generating around 10 per cent of our electricity, and the Government has a manifesto pledge to boost its previous 30GW target to 40GW by 2030.

that could be expected to generate the amount of electricity needed for all the homes in the uK on current levels of use, though it does not include power for businesses, industry and public buildings.

And if homes switch to heat pumps for heating to replace gas boilers, as well as more electric cars, domestic demand for power will increase. Melanie onn of industry body RenewableuK said: ‘to reach the Prime Minister’s target of 40GW of offshore wind by 2030, which will power all the homes in the uK, we need to step up the pace and scale at which we build new projects.’

she welcomed an increase in the amount of renewable capacity that will be delivered in the next auction – where companies bid to secure contracts for payments for the power they will generate from new wind farms they build.

that pace will have to continue for the rest of the 2020s, she said. Measures will also be needed to support the development of new technology, particularly floating wind turbines, which can be deployed in deeper waters where wind speeds are higher, generating more power.

Experts warn switching all homes from gas boilers to heat pumps or boilers powered by hydrogen on a 2030 timescale requires new infrastructure and new technology to be installed in homes by a trained workforce.

Jim Watson, professor of energy policy at uCL’s Institute of sustainable Resources, said the shift to powering uK homes from offshore wind is possible by 2030 and will bring other benefits due to the fall in wind power costs. but he said: ‘ on heating, it is much more difficult to decarbonise all heating systems in uK homes – and it would be very challenging indeed to do so as soon as 2030.’

bikash Pal, power systems professor at Imperial College London, said: ‘Eventually uK homes will be heated through electricity from offshore wind, but to be able to build that infrastructure through a Covid-ruined economy by 2030 – in just nine years’ time – is a massive target.’

shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead said much more investment was needed for other renewable sources to fill in at times when the wind was not providing enough power. He warned the 40GW target is less than half that needed by the early 2030s to heat and power every home.

Green Party co-leader Jonathan bartley said last night: ‘the level of investment proposed by the Prime Minister is nowhere near matching his rhetoric. the £160million for wind power falls far short of the £48billion that analysts say is necessary.’

Philip Dunne, chairman of the Commons environmental audit committee, said: ‘Reaching 40GW is no easy feat and the Government must work closely with industry to overcome challenges that are limiting progress.’