Tony Blair’s special adviser on the environment and
sustainability admits (at last) that wind energy cannot displace any nuclear
capacity.
Jonothan Porritt is forced to admit - as the facts gain wider publicity - that:-
“It would be unrealistic to assume that wind energy would displace any
nuclear capacity . . .” (www.sd-commission.org.uk)
This is the most honest statement from the longstanding,
vociferous and influential supporter of commercial wind turbines that I, personally,
have seen.
He promotes wind turbines at every opportunity and has described them as ‘objects
of compelling beauty’.
All Ministers, MPs, SMPs, AMs and other decision-makers, once and for all, must
be obliged by a ruling which will prevent them from continuing to mislead the
public with
the false statement that wind energy can replace nuclear power.
Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales, should be the first to withdraw
this false claim which he made on the front page of the Western Mail in November
2002 (see attachment).
AK
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Sustainable Development Commission (chair Jonathon Porritt)
Report Windpower in the UK
Extract from Page 41, calculating the CO2 emissions of different fuels:
“To do this one must make some assumptions as to how much carbon wind energy
output is displacing.
There are large differences between the CO2 emissions associated with coal (243
tC/GWh) compared to natural gas (97 tC/GWh), with none
associated to nuclear power.
As already explained, it would be unrealistic to assume that wind energy would
displace any nuclear capacity, and it is most likely that it will displace coal
in the short to medium term.
However, the actual CO2 displacement in 2020 is hard to estimate and so for
the purpose of this report, it has been assumed that wind output
will displace the average emissions resulting from gas-fired plant.
This figure is likely to be conservative, as in reality some coal-fired generation
is likely to exist in 2020”
The report is available for download (1.7 Mb) from www.sd-commission.org.uk
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Note: Porritt former head of FoE and now Chairman of the Sustainability Commission,
(Blair appointment).
Board Member of the South West Regional Development Agency.
Programme Director Forum of the Future
Vice President, Socialist Environment Resources Association
Chairs the Agricultural Reform Group
He promotes commercial wind power stations at every opportunity.
HAIN Western Mail .doc
PORRIT CIV. ENG Cornwall 21.doc
