Britain could face power cuts within four years because of Government plans to rely on wind turbines, a leading think-tank will warn today.
A report by the Adam Smith Institute and the Scientific Alliance claims that wind farms cannot meet the UK’s need for energy, leading to “a crisis by the middle of this decade".
It estimates that five turbines would have to be put up every day to generate the Government’s targeted amount of electricity from wind, which is championed by Energy Secretary Chris Huhne.
Martin Livermore, a director of the Scientific Alliance, said not enough wind turbines can be built quickly enough to replace Britain’s current coal and nuclear stations, which will mostly have closed by the end of the decade “It’s a real lack of energy security," he said. "The rather frightening comparison is with South Africa is where they didn’t build nearly enough power stations and they’ve had rolling black-outs for a number of years. Clearly if we made a real effort to encourage energy efficiency the situation might not be too bad it doesn’t look too rosy at the moment.”
The report challenges the Government's claims that generating energy from wind power will be cheaper in the long run.
Its authors say the market is “rigged” to make burning fossil fuels more expensive, because emitting carbon dioxide is taxed.
However, a Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said the report “completely misses the point".
"Our policies are aimed at developing a mix of energy sources here in the UK rather than relying so much on expensive fossil fuel imports, so we can keep the lights on and cut emissions as old power stations close," he said. "It would be madness to put all our eggs in one basket, ignore the UK’s huge renewables potential and just give away Britain’s share of the green energy revolution."
Renewables companies also said the report did not look at all the evidence.
Dr Gordon Edge, director of policy at RenewableUK said it was “simply another example of the same little clique of people repeating the same tired old arguments against renewable energy, regardless of the facts.”
“ Astonishingly, they seem to be suggesting that we should generate electricity by importing vast quantities of expensive fossil fuels from abroad, rather than utilising a free low carbon source - wind - which is abundant throughout the UK, onshore and offshore,” he said.
“We will continue to forge ahead with the successful deployment of wind energy".
The report comes as the head of the National Trust claimed plans to install wind turbines along the cost of Britain are simply expensive way of “giving rich people lots more money”.
Simon Jenkins, the chairman of the charity, attacked the “lunacy” of the industry, which is meant to provide a third of Britain’s electricity by 2020.
“They are a very, very expensive way of giving rich people lots more money,” Mr Jenkins told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “The west side of the British isles will be covered in these machines if the planning goes ahead and it will be entirely at public expense.”
"Our policies are aimed at developing a mix of energy sources here in the UK rather than relying so much on expensive fossil fuel imports, so we can keep the lights on and cut emissions as old power stations close," he said. "It would be madness to put all our eggs in one basket, ignore the UK’s huge renewables potential and just give away Britain’s share of the green energy revolution."
Renewables companies also said the report did not look at all the evidence.
Dr Gordon Edge, director of policy at RenewableUK said it was “simply another example of the same little clique of people repeating the same tired old arguments against renewable energy, regardless of the facts.”
“ Astonishingly, they seem to be suggesting that we should generate electricity by importing vast quantities of expensive fossil fuels from abroad, rather than utilising a free low carbon source - wind - which is abundant throughout the UK, onshore and offshore,” he said.
“We will continue to forge ahead with the successful deployment of wind energy".
The report comes as the head of the National Trust claimed plans to install wind turbines along the cost of Britain are simply expensive way of “giving rich people lots more money”.
Simon Jenkins, the chairman of the charity, attacked the “lunacy” of the industry, which is meant to provide a third of Britain’s electricity by 2020.
“They are a very, very expensive way of giving rich people lots more money,” Mr Jenkins told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “The west side of the British isles will be covered in these machines if the planning goes ahead and it will be entirely at public expense.”
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