A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published today, the 30th August, claims that wind power is a secure and reliable source of energy and an effective way of cutting carbon emissions.
The report (titled ‘Beyond the Bluster’) seems to be a response to harsh criticism of wind power from a group of Conservative MPs who, back in in February, called for subsidies for onshore wind to be cut because they believe it is an inefficient and unreliable source of power.
The IPPR (which admittedly tends to lean to the left a bit) is unequivocal that wind power is both efficient and reliable.
In the report, it argues that every megawatt-hour (MWH) of electricity produced through wind generation in Great Britain saves a minimum of 350kg of CO2 and that carbon dioxide emission savings from wind energy were at least 5.5 million tonnes in 2011.
It also says that while wind is a variable energy resource, it can be easily integrated because it is predictable and varies at similar rates to existing electricity demand, and that the levels of wind power projected for the UK by 2020 would be enough to ‘keep the lights’ on during ‘cold, calm spells’.
That some balance has been brought to bear on the wind generation debate is to be welcomed however concerns remain that wind will only ever be a supplementary or back-up source of generation. A balanced fuel mix is the way forward, however balanced the debate on wind power becomes.
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