Yesterday the world's biggest offshore wind farm off the Kent coast was officially opened. There was plenty of news reports taking the wind farm in isolation. I do understand that this technology is expensive and that British ports can't handle the larger blades. Although in return for General Electrics £100million investment they want the government to enhance an existing UK port to handle the large blades used in offshore wind turbines. Once this is done then new wind turbine factories can be built near the port. The cost will come down over time.
I also understand that if the wind speed is too low or even too high then the turbines can not operate, but power projects are based on average wind not constant wind. There is also a plan to make it easier for people to produce their own electricity and sell it to the grid, like in Germany this will reduced energy consumption.
Wind farms are subsidised just as nuclear power plants are. The cost of decommissioning a plant is picked up by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Coal of course is cheap but it still has to be imported. Oil and gas have very large political issues attached and are not secure from the will of other countries such as Russia. The cost of fossil fuels is also based on current prices however this cost is likely to increase for oil and gas in particular due to the increasing hard to find supply.
So we need a mix of secure energy solutions for the modern world. Putting climate change aside why should we use such polluting power stations. Small particle pollution from power stations has an impact on our health and on such things as acid rain and plant growth. Britain should be leading the way in green technology, green jobs, reducing pollution and energy security.
Also whats all this about an eyesore, are other forms of power stations not an eyesore? beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
