Environment

Are wind farms good for the economy?

by amyjudd | November 14, 2008 at 02:08 pm

142 views | 14 Recommendations | 4 comments

Centrica, Britain's wind farm developer, are now reviewing the economic impact of wind farms throughout the country, as costs are soaring and money it tight.

Centrica, which is raising 2.2 billion pounds ($3.26 billion) to help fund its proposed 25 percent stake in nuclear power generator British Energy, said it was "revisiting the economics of wind farms given rising raw material and credit costs."

The company, which hopes to start full operation of its new Lynn & Inner Dowsing wind farms off the coast of eastern England by the end of the year, has yet to approve investment for three more farms that it plans to build in the North Sea.

"The costs of building offshore wind are at a very high level," a Centrica spokesman told Reuters.

"This, coupled with the rising cost of credit given the economic situation, means we need to revisit all our numbers to ensure our projects are economic before we give them the go-ahead."

Centrica still plans to invest 1.5 billion pounds in renewable energy schemes at this time however.

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Maireid Sullivan

at 14:52 on November 14th, 2008

It is so sad that the economic turn down came just when new sources of energy need vast investment. But, by changing our tax laws, introducing Land Value Tax, or Resource Rent we can do this and more, while also alleviating poverty.

English economics journalist Fred Harrison's explains the G20 agenda in his latest article, "Hail to the Location Louts" on NowPublic, here.

Fred Harrison has been quite aggressive in his charge that Gordon Brown has mis-managed the economy when he had advance warning that the US sub-prime situation was a Ponzi scheme. He says, if Brown had taken heed of the early warnings, he could have advised investors not to buy into the fraudulent US schemes. See Fred's Blog The Renegade Economist

Paschen

at 05:39 on November 15th, 2008

The question should be are they good for the environment and our energy supply as well as the future of Humanity.

Pythiian1

at 11:21 on November 15th, 2008

There are several companies in New Jersey, US, that want to build wind farms southeast of Atlantic City. The state Board of Public Utilities had awarded a $4 milion grant to the Garden State offshore Energy for a pilot study in October this year.

I think the concern is about the wind farm's impact on wildlife in the proposed region.