“Onshore wind now makes a meaningful contribution
to our energy mix and has been part of the necessary
increase in renewable capacity. Onshore windfarms
often fail to win public support, however, and are unable
by themselves to provide the firm capacity that a stable
energy system requires. As a result, we will end any new
public subsidy for them and change the law so that local
people have the final say on windfarm applications.”
This is the Conservative commitment with regards to wind energy in their manifesto published today. We believe this statement contains a number of factual errors: onshore wind continues to receive high levels of public support, above fracking and nuclear energy; National Grid states that there is no upper limit to the amount of wind that can be supported on the grid; stability issues are overstated and can become less significant as renewables capacity increases.
In short, the Conservative policy on onshore wind is based on a flawed premise – that subsidy for onshore wind is poor value for money. We dispute this, and as the industry continues to lower costs we are increasingly looking at future zero-subsidy scenarios – unlike other technologies the party has pledged to support, such as nuclear and fracking. Given the party has committed itself to cutting emissions as “cost-effectively” as possible, it is difficult to understand how this might be done without the continued deployment of onshore wind technology.
We welcome the Conservatives continued commitment to the Climate Change Act and view this as key to underpinning the UK’s moves towards a low carbon future, however we would wish to see this support extended to include a more concrete vision for the UK’s future. It is also unclear to us how the party squares its commitment to the continued exploitation of UK based fossil fuels and a move away from the cheapest and most readily deployable renewable technology with the need to decarbonise the economy and energy generation.
On a more positive note, the Conservatives do commit themselves to supporting newer technologies, such as offshore wind and the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon (and therefore perhaps other such projects?) and we fully endorse this. The UK must have a diversified portfolio of renewable energy generation in order to secure a strong UK supply chain and the planet’s future.
Overall then, a fairly low score for the Conservatives, for what to us seems a rash and impractical policy on onshore wind that severely undermines other, more promising commitments they have made and makes their description of themselves having led the “greenest Goverment ever” seem like a fantasy.