So, we’ve made the case as to why wind power needs to play an important role in the future along with other sources of renewable energy, but can we afford it?
Many people think wind power in particular costs too much. The Daily Telegraph, for example, reported that green policies will add £300 to the average energy bill, a claim that has been echoed by many since. This has since been shown to be an incorrect exaggeration by many, including the Department for Energy and Climate Change, forcing the Daily Mail to issue corrections for referring to it on three separate occasions (details courtesy of Carbon Brief).
So how much is renewable energy really costing us?Currently subsidies for renewable energy are costing us very little. Our energy bills have gone up in recent years – from an average of £605 in 2004 to £1,060 in 2010, but the Government’s independent advisor, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has shown that 80% of these increases are a result of gas price hikes. You can read the full report here. Ofgem agrees, estimating that about £100 in a £1300 bill comes from green policies.
All being well, we’ll have a lot more wind power and other renewables generating clean, green energy in the future. What will this cost us? The CCC looked at this too, and their calculations suggest that average bills will increase to £1250 by 2020 and that £190 of this will be for renewables and energy efficiency. Clearly bills could be a lot higher if gas prices increase more than is expected.
Is it a price worth paying?For those already in fuel poverty an additional £100 is a lot of money. We need to make sure that these households are protected and benefit from free energy efficiency measures that could lift them out of fuel poverty.
For the rest of us, the question is whether an additional £190 a year is worth it to cut our carbon. We hope you agree that it is, and that if it costs more, then so be it. With climate change, we’re staring down the barrel of an ecological crisis of unprecedented severity. We at the RSPB believe it’s worth doing whatever it takes to avert this, and to save nature forever.
What do you think – is it a price worth paying in your eyes?
What isn't generally taken into account is that it's only an extra 190GBP at today's energy prices. As soon as fossil fuel generation costs more than renewable then there's no premium and people actually start saving money.
A bit of subsidy now means that in ten years everyone starts saving.
Not to mention that we don't have to import wind from Russia and the Middle East.