UK - Power of the wind blows away myths

A new report by the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University shows that the UK has the best wind resource in Europe. The report, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry, analysed hourly wind speeds collected by the Met Office at 66 locations across the UK since the 1970, making it the most extensive research of the UK's wind resource to date.

BWEA Head of Grid & Technical Affairs, Richard Ford, warmly welcomed today's publication: "This report confirms what the industry has long known about the quality of the UK's wind resource. Our colleagues in Europe are perplexed that given this abundant natural resource - a strategic energy source as important as North Sea oil - this country has been slow to install turbines to harness the power of the wind." "With this evidence, there should now be no doubt at all about wind's ability to play a reliable role in the new power portfolio, and fulfil its promise to generate significant amounts of carbon free electricity for the UK. The UK is starting to catch up with our EU partners, who have been enjoying the benefits of this clean energy source for many years now, including thousands of jobs and increased energy security, despite not having this quality of wind."

Among the findings of this independent analysis, the first methodical investigation of Britain's wind resource, are that there has never been a time over the past 35 years when the entire country has been without wind, and that the wind always blows strongly enough to generate electricity somewhere in Britain. The study also showed that wind tends to blow more strongly when demand is highest, during the day and winter months. Furthermore, the chance of low wind speeds affecting 90% of the country only occur for one hour every five years, whilst the chance of wind turbines shutting down due to very high wind speeds only occurs in around one hour every 10 years. Other findings concluded that the wind conditions in the UK are significantly stronger than those in Denmark and Germany, making wind power a very real option and opportunity for the UK, as the country has 'the right kind of wind'.

The report's author, Graham Sinden, from the Environmental Change Institute research team at Oxford University, said: "The UK wind resource offers a reliable source of electricity that is not only low carbon, but reduces the UK's reliance on imported fuels. By examining such extensive wind records from throughout the UK, we can be very confident that the study identified both long term trends and the most extreme wind conditions that the UK will experience." As Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks commented: "The only sensible debate about energy is one based on the facts. This new research is a nail in the coffin of some of the exaggerated myths peddled by opponents of wind power."