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Anorak News | So We Should Stop Wind Turbine Subsidies Immediately

So We Should Stop Wind Turbine Subsidies Immediately

by | 12th, June 2012

THERE’S a report out, a briefing note if you prefer, from the Grantham Institute, about just how lovely onshore wind power is. You can read it in full here if you like. It’s the usual sort of piffle we’ve come to expect from these sorts of people. Everything’s just great as long as we ignore all of the costs and shuffle them off to the side there and ignore them.

But there is one point they make which really, really annoys. If what they say is true then we should immediately stop any form of subsidy to wind power. But I’m sure they would be entirely horrified if anyone actually suggested this.

What they say is that wind power is pretty much competitive with gas fired ‘leccie already. And it really really will be in only a couple of years.

Hey, if this was true I’d be all for it too. But they miss the implication of this: if the damn stuff is either competitive now or will be in only a couple of years then why in hell are we subsidising it? If it’s competitive now then it doesn’t need a subsidy. And if it’s going to be so in three years then we really don’t want anyone building any for three years. That would just be pissing money away. Wait three years then build the things when they’re competitive.

It would be different if it were the UK subsidies driving the cost reductions: but it ain’t. It’s all the tax money being splurged by the Chinee and the Septics which is. So we should just sit back and let them do it then install when they’ve finally worked out how to do it right.

I will admit that this is something that soundly pisses me off. The more the greenies insist that they plans are competitive the more they shout for subsidies: when the very fact of competitiveness means that the subsoidies should be stopped.

 

 

 



Posted: 12th, June 2012 | In: Money Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink