{"id":268945,"date":"2023-07-23T18:46:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-23T16:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268945"},"modified":"2023-07-23T18:46:51","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T16:46:51","slug":"big-blow-to-uks-green-dreams-as-costs-skyrocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268945","title":{"rendered":"Big Blow to UK\u2019s Green Dreams as Costs Skyrocket"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Coastal wind turbines at the oceanic windmill Middelgrunden, situated just outside Copenhagen. These iconic turbines, which can be seen from most places within this capital city, are a symbol of a future with green cities and sustainable energy in Denmark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/f9d0f4f9-6d95-44a9-924b-d88627fd6485<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a delightfully illustrative episode of reality biting back, one of the UK\u2019s largest offshore wind farm projects has ground to a halt, not because of a lack of wind, but due to an unabating gust of rising costs. The illustrious Swedish energy group, Vattenfall, has put a stop to work on its 1.4GW Norfolk Boreas site, following a 40% surge in project costs. Clearly, \u201cgoing green\u201d isn\u2019t as financially breezy as some might have you believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quoting Anna Borg, Vattenfall\u2019s CEO:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWhat we see today, it simply doesn\u2019t make sense to continue this project.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/f9d0f4f9-6d95-44a9-924b-d88627fd6485<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This halt throws a monkey wrench into the UK\u2019s fervent ambition to triple its offshore wind capacity by 2030 in order to decarbonize its electricity system. All this, while the cost efficiency and reliability of these grand projects remain questionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Economy\u2019s \u2018Inconvenient Truth\u2019
<\/strong>Interestingly, the UK government has been keen on flapping the wings of more wind power projects to meet its net-zero targets. However, with costs spiraling out of control, the move seems more like trying to fly into a headwind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fiasco stands as a testament to the impracticality of imprudently rushing towards renewable energy without addressing the inherent challenges and limitations of these technologies. Rising costs for equipment, supply chain disruptions, and the overarching reality of energy economics all play a part in this unfolding drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable or Unsustainable \u2013 That\u2019s the Question
<\/strong>The defunct Norfolk Boreas was intended to be the kingpin of the country\u2019s major offshore wind projects. Its aim? To power 1.5 million homes with up to 140 turbines. Yet, developers have acknowledged that projects with low locked-in electricity prices have turned uneconomical due to these escalating costs and disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This puts a spotlight on the term \u201csustainable.\u201d While it sounds compelling in political speeches and looks impressive in policy documents, one is forced to question if these renewable energy ventures are truly sustainable \u2013 economically, that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Mirage
<\/strong>In February, it was reported that Vattenfall, along with Denmark\u2019s \u00d8rsted and other wind farm developers, were seeking tax breaks or subsidies as a remedy to their fiscal ailments. Perhaps the mirage of \u201ccheap\u201d renewable energy is starting to dissipate, exposing the harsh desert of economic reality beneath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the British government\u2019s past assurance of inflation-linked prices over a 15-year period, Kathryn Porter from Watt-Logic argues that these contracts ignored the \u201ceconomic reality\u201d of cost pressures that were already apparent. It seems the notion of \u2018green at all costs\u2019 is beginning to wilt under the scorching sun of real-world economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race to net zero is leading us into a financial quicksand, sucking in vast resources for a future that will never materialize as envisaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, readers are welcome to share their views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:
Financial Times Article<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

For more on intermittent wind and solar go to our ClimateTV page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The race to net zero is leading us into a financial quicksand, sucking in vast resources for a future that will never materialize as envisaged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":268951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821294,691821295,691821296,691818248,691821274],"class_list":{"0":"post-268945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-green-dreams","9":"tag-net-zero-2","10":"tag-norfolk-boreas","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-vattenfall","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/00GettyImages-1306130708.jpg?fit=2121%2C1413&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-17XP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":378047,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=378047","url_meta":{"origin":268945,"position":0},"title":"Chinese Turbines For Floating Wind\u00a0Farm?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"So much for all those green jobs!","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-160.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-160.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-160.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-160.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":384581,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=384581","url_meta":{"origin":268945,"position":1},"title":"UK Wind Turbine Supplier To Close Due To High Energy\u00a0Costs","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Wigan manufacturer of wind turbine blades has gone bust, in part because of high electricity prices, which are the direct result of expensive renewable energy.","rel":"","context":"In \"Construction industry\"","block_context":{"text":"Construction industry","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=construction-industry"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-09_53_14.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-09_53_14.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-09_53_14.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-09_53_14.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-09_53_14.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":339122,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=339122","url_meta":{"origin":268945,"position":2},"title":"The Great British Energy Company \u2013 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#122","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The new Labour government in the UK wants to set up the \u201cGreat British Energy Company,\u201d supposedly the answer to all of that country\u2019s green energy dreams. 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