Dear Editor
In a recent edition of the Western Telegraph, John Etherington claimed that more wind energy will require the building of more power stations. Experts disagree.
An Oxford University report states that wind power supplying ten per cent of UK electricity would result in the closure of around 3GW of power station capacity.
A UK Energy Research Council study states that the back-up needed for wind will be ‘modest’, rather than the 90% cited by Mr Etherington, and that wind energy will lead to a direct reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
A National Grid spokesman stated in June that the debate has moved “firmly beyond the simplistic view that we just need more back-up generation” as systems, such as smart grids, reduce the need for it.
Mr Etherington also complains about financial support for wind energy, but ignores the significant subsides that are provided to other energy systems, such as marine energy, nuclear power and fossil fuels.
The real problem is the huge subsidies given to polluting fossil fuels. That is why leaders of the world’s most powerful economies agreed at the G20 summit at Pittsburgh in September to phase out these subsidies.
Gordon James
Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth,
c/o SPAN Arts,
Narberth.
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