Renewable Energy : Will the UK’s Windfarm Hype Become Reality?
Sunday, January 4th, 2009The UK is going to reduce its carbon emissions by eighty percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels - according to the government. In spite of this statement, UK people are questioning their government’s dedication to wind power.
A recent article published by wallstreetpit.com claims that BP, a large British energy company, has announced that it will be refocusing its wind power projects in the United States while shutting down the wind power projects in Turkey, India, China and here in the UK. The article also claims that the UK will use wind power for thirty percent of the country’s electricity supply. One has to wonder why BP is pulling out of the UK if the government is truly dedicated to exploring the options offered by wind power and other green technologies.
According to an article by the Guardian, Great Britain is one of the best locations in the world to be home to wind technology development. The popularity of Great Britain is owed mostly to the long coastline and good wind conditions that the country is famous for.
The article goes on to say that a Vattenfall and Iberdola Renovables new partnership will lead to a new United Kingdom-based windfarm. The building of this windfarm is estimated at 780m pounds and energy output is expected to be 300MW. Is this windfarm allowed because BP has refocused its attention? Why is private enterprise taking over an industry that the government claims to be invested in using?
More criticism has been lodged about the funding and difficult to understand planning that the government will need if it does, indeed, plan to invest so much of its attention to green energy. If wind farms are supposed to be responsible for thirty percent of the United Kingdom’s energy supply, a large number of farms will need to be constructed to keep up with the energy demand. An independent group, The Carbon Trust, estimates that the building of these windfarms will need to speed up considerably and, at the same time; the project budget will need to cut about sixteen billion pounds from its original projections. A website called Redgreenandblue.com says that only twenty five percent of the windfarms the UK needs will actually be constructed by the self imposed 2020 deadline.
Not only experts, but also most public opinions in the United Kingdom agree that renewable energy and not the current power grid is the future of energy production for the country. Green energy costs less money in the long run and is better for the globe than the current power grid system. Unfortunately, because of the shortfalls, British people should ask how committed the UK government really is to green energy. If the government truly wants to implement wind energy, why is the project budget being reduced? What is keeping the 2020 goal from happening?