{"id":282655,"date":"2023-10-09T21:31:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=282655"},"modified":"2023-10-09T21:31:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:31:34","slug":"no-wind-power-is-not-cheaper-than-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=282655","title":{"rendered":"No, Wind Power is Not Cheaper Than Gas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"412\" data-attachment-id=\"282663\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=282663\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?fit=1200%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,683\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"059542b1db6a07-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?fit=723%2C412&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?resize=723%2C412&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-282663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?resize=1024%2C583&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?resize=300%2C171&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?resize=768%2C437&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/2023\/10\/07\/they-work-for-you\/\">The Daily Sceptic<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BY\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dailysceptic.org\/author\/alex-kriel-and-duncan-white\/\">ALEX KRIEL AND DUNCAN WHITE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"462\" data-attachment-id=\"282656\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=282656\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?fit=1345%2C859&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1345,859\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?fit=723%2C462&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?resize=723%2C462&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-282656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?resize=1024%2C654&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?resize=300%2C192&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?resize=768%2C490&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?resize=1200%2C766&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/02023-06-23-13_33_22-Abandoned_Wind_Farm_near_South_Point_the_southern_most_point_in_the_US._647481.jpeg?w=1345&amp;ssl=1 1345w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates of Net Zero policies repeatedly reassure the public that they are advancing cheap, green energy with the promise of vast numbers of lucrative green jobs and world leadership for the U.K. in selected green technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately for the hard pressed British electorate, \u2018cheap, green energy\u2019 is nothing more than an empty political slogan arrived at by a dishonest sleight of hand. Specifically, the politicians simply ignore the true costs of the \u2018cheap, green energy\u2019 which soon becomes very expensive when factoring in all costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The chart below is from the U.K. Government\u2019s own\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/1179359\/electricity-generation-costs-2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Electricity Generation Costs 2023<\/em><\/a>\u00a0report and forms the centrepiece of the green propaganda. It purportedly shows the\u00a0\u2018levelised cost of electricity\u2019\u00a0(LCOE) for different generating technologies. The Government uses deceptive calculations to arrive at a distorted cost for electricity generated by wind-power over the lifetime of a plant, by which means the Government can falsely claim that offshore wind is 2.5 times cheaper than dirty old gas generation (CCGT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"545\" data-attachment-id=\"282658\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=282658\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-239.png?fit=690%2C545&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"690,545\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image-239\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-239.png?fit=690%2C545&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-239.png?resize=690%2C545&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-282658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-239.png?w=690&amp;ssl=1 690w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-239.png?resize=300%2C237&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most outrageous trick in this \u2018analysis\u2019 is that the Government has treated completely reliable electricity generated by gas (\u2018dispatchable\u2019, in the trade jargon) in exactly the same way as extraordinarily&nbsp;<em>unreliable<\/em>&nbsp;electricity generated by a wind farm. This is not even an apples and oranges comparison, this is an elephant and microchips comparison. As a simple thought experiment, how much of a discount would you require for a car, cooker or washing machine whose operation was controlled externally and is very hard to predict versus the same equipment where you decide when you use it? For most people the answer would be an enormous discount, indicating that the true utility of variable electricity supply is very, very low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is really no comparison between an inexpensive tried-and-tested reliable power source and an exceptionally unreliable megawatt hour. We really are being had for a patsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make costs comparable, you would need to state them on a comparable dispatchable basis, which means combining a wind farm with a battery storage facility to produce stable supply. At the moment there are only a handful of battery projects, which are very costly and provide only a short period of supply for their catchment area. As an indicator of the scale of battery backup required to \u2018plug the gap\u2019 when wind and solar power falter due to weather conditions, the Australian city of Melbourne has installed a \u2018battery farm\u2019 at Hornsdale at a cost of A$90m, covering 2.5 acres that can provide 28 minutes of electricity if there is a total failure of \u2018renewable\u2019 energy supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For reference, calculations by Bjorn Lomborg, the President of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, indicate that the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BjornLomborg\/status\/1476929472800727046?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EU\u2019s entire battery capacity<\/a>&nbsp;is enough to cover one minute and 21 seconds of average demand. At this stage, it isn\u2019t possible to calculate a cost per MWh (megawatt hour) for offshore wind farm plus battery installation, but it is clear that the resulting levelised cost would be very high and orders of magnitude (i.e., multiples of 10) higher than in the chart above (\u00a344 per MWh).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In prior years, the Government at least made a half-hearted stab at acknowledging the enormous difference in utility between reliable and unreliable electricity by considering various downstream impacts of variable green electricity. The methodology was not fully disclosed, but it involved adding additional costs onto wind farms to adjust their&nbsp;levelised costs&nbsp;and then deducting costs from the&nbsp;levelised cost&nbsp;of combined cycle gas turbine plants, which have delivered uninterrupted, cheap energy for decades. That analysis resulted in a somewhat complex chart showing&nbsp;\u2018enhanced levelised cost of electricity\u2019, which we have simplified below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is plain to see that gas (CCGT) is the\u00a0cheapest\u00a0form of electricity generation on an\u00a0enhanced levelised cost\u00a0basis even when accounting only in this partial way for downstream network costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"473\" data-attachment-id=\"282659\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=282659\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-240.png?fit=1014%2C663&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1014,663\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image-240\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-240.png?fit=723%2C473&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-240.png?resize=723%2C473&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-282659\" style=\"width:760px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-240.png?w=1014&amp;ssl=1 1014w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-240.png?resize=300%2C196&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-240.png?resize=768%2C502&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government has not included any such assessment of downstream impacts in the 2023 analysis because so called \u2018balancing costs\u2019 have been shifted on to the consumer. This is an arbitrary accounting convention and ignores the fact that the same costs will need to be incurred,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ofgem.gov.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-10\/CMP395%20Decision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regardless of whom they are charged to<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note also that between 2020 and 2023 assessments, the Government massively and somewhat arbitrarily inflated the cost of gas (CCGT) based on a very much higher \u2018carbon costs\u2019 from \u00a332 per MWh to \u00a360 per MWh (the carbon costs are a somewhat arbitrary value that the Government places on the \u2018social cost\u2019 of carbon emissions).&nbsp;By moving this assumption up, or down, the Government can itself alter CCGT levelised costs and attractiveness relative to other forms of generation. This huge increase has distorted the 2023 outcomes to make gas appear much less attractive compared to wind. Ultimately though this is a policy assumption rather than a physical or market factor and is driven by value judgements rather than scientific reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have illustrated that for the 2023 assessment, by using the Government\u2019s own earlier method of analysis we have gone from a position where offshore wind appears to be 2.5 times cheaper than gas to a position were gas is the cheapest form of generation when factoring in the system impacts as they were accounted for in the 2020 assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are a number of other questionable assumptions that unsurprisingly all work towards inflating the levelised costs of electricity from gas and reducing the levelised cost of wind. The main such assumption being a very high 61% load factor for offshore wind, which as far as we are aware has not ever been achieved anywhere in practice (the \u2018load factor\u2019 is the amount of electricity produced by a wind farm over a year as a proportion of how much it would produce if the wind was always favourable). The Government itself&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/839515\/L2C156060-UKBR-R-05-D_-_potential_to_improve_Load_Factors_of_UK_offshore_wind_to_2035.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shows<\/a>&nbsp;actual load factors for offshore wind farms were in the range of 39% to 47% up to 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you were to go a stage further and construct a truly representative scenario where gas power generation was replaced by wind, you would have to factor in the reality that you would need to effectively keep your old gas generation in reserve in order to have an uninterrupted supply of electricity. This leads to suboptimal operation of the gas plant and very high unit costs with lower output on the same fixed cost base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the scenarios that we looked at, any saving from \u2018low cost\u2019 wind, primarily lower due to carbon costs, would be more than offset by the very high unit cost of electricity from gas which would have to be purchased at enormous \u2018standby\u2019 costs to cover every period of low or excessive wind to prevent blackouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Real world data \u2013 the acid test<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"390\" data-attachment-id=\"282661\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=282661\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-241.png?fit=928%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"928,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image-241\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-241.png?fit=723%2C390&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-241.png?resize=723%2C390&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-282661\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-241.png?w=928&amp;ssl=1 928w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-241.png?resize=300%2C162&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-241.png?resize=768%2C414&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Observed data is always the acid test and in an excellent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/media4.manhattan-institute.org\/sites\/default\/files\/R-0319-MM.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>&nbsp;by Mark P. Mills from the Manhattan Institute, he includes a chart of residential electricity prices versus wind and solar capacity per capita across European countries. Doubtless there may be some cofounding factors, but overall the trend is crystal clear: more \u2018cheap\u2019 renewable energy is directly linked to higher residential energy prices. Very much as we expected and the opposite outcome to that promised by the U.K. politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The technocrats only real answer to the problem of unreliable renewables is to limit the ability of the consumer to use electricity. This is probably the main reason that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thinkingcoalition.org\/news\/smart-tyranny\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">smart meters and smart appliances<\/a>&nbsp;are being rolled out to the end of 2025. Again the needs of the citizen will effectively be made subordinate to the needs of the system, itself dictated by ideology rather than supply problems or verifiable scientific reasons \u2013 a new and very unhealthy direction of travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can see how easy it is to go from the fantasy of \u2018cheap wind power\u2019 promoted by the political class to the reality of very expensive wind, simply by including the real downstream costs. We have identified that the necessity of maintaining gas backup to wind power means that any savings from wind will often be more than negated by the costs of backup power. This proposition ties in with the observed reality that countries with higher levels of wind and solar capacity tend to have higher residential electricity prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The real problem though is the hell-for-leather dash for Net Zero and the accompanying plans produced by the unelected and unaccountable Climate Change Committee. This Soviet-style planning coupled with the Department for Business, Energy &amp; Industrial Strategy arbitrating between different technologies and handing out billions in support of its favoured solution has all the characteristics of an accident waiting to happen. Bjorn Lomborg warned that \u201cwe are now going from wasting billions of dollars on ineffective policies to wasting trillions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The accelerated implementation of unreliable wind power will almost certainly lead to higher costs, lower living standards and the erosion of competitiveness and not to the green nirvana dishonestly promoted by Westminster politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Alex Kriel is by training a physicist and was an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThinkingSlow1\/status\/1257578069797339137\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">early critic of the Imperial Covid model<\/a>. He is a founder of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thinkingcoalition.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Thinking Coalition<\/a>, which comprises a group of citizens who are concerned about Government overreach. Duncan White\u00a0is a retired nurse with extensive experience of healthcare management and international health consultancy. He has researched Government carbon related policies for a number of years in cooperation with several U.K. groups representing the interests of motorists. This article was<a href=\"https:\/\/thinkingcoalition.org\/climate\/the-fantasy-of-cheap-wind\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0first published on the Thinking Coalition website<\/a>. Sign up for updates\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thinkingcoalition.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From The Daily Sceptic BY\u00a0ALEX KRIEL AND DUNCAN WHITE Advocates of Net Zero policies repeatedly reassure the public that they are advancing cheap, green energy with the promise of vast numbers of lucrative green jobs and world leadership for the U.K. in selected green technologies. Unfortunately for the hard pressed British electorate, \u2018cheap, green energy\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":282663,"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":"Advocates of Net Zero policies repeatedly reassure the public that they are advancing cheap, green energy with the promise of vast numbers of lucrative green jobs and world leadership for the U.K. in selected green technologies.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"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":[691818056,691818228,691818155,691818154,691818181,691818852],"class_list":{"0":"post-282655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-fossil-fuels","10":"tag-gas","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-renewable-energy","13":"tag-wind-power","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/059542b1db6a07-1.webp?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1bwX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":204865,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=204865","url_meta":{"origin":282655,"position":0},"title":"Is the UK on track to meet its \u2019net zero &#8216;targets?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/18\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"49272934 - solar panels with wind turbines and electricity pylon at sunset. clean energy concept. The COP 26 climate jamboree has been and gone, and the BBC looks at some of the energy numbers as the UK government pursues its net zero obsession. One obvious and increasing problem is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wind-and-solar-weaknesses-part-i-800x578-1-1.jpg?fit=800%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wind-and-solar-weaknesses-part-i-800x578-1-1.jpg?fit=800%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wind-and-solar-weaknesses-part-i-800x578-1-1.jpg?fit=800%2C578&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0wind-and-solar-weaknesses-part-i-800x578-1-1.jpg?fit=800%2C578&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":408748,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=408748","url_meta":{"origin":282655,"position":1},"title":"Electricity Bills Will Carry On Rising Due to Net Zero, Warn Energy Bosses","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/17\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Household energy bills are on course to rise by hundreds of pounds this decade because of ballooning green levies, the country\u2019s biggest electricity and gas suppliers have warned.","rel":"","context":"In \"energy bills\"","block_context":{"text":"energy bills","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=energy-bills"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQOLEnVsxvPvIzcm2zEUnlJMG9n29xopE0aLg4JBMM0HDq_Vq82jU9g2gMLCyxjuajLsimFkupo3azmJIJv0UG-48elnW8sF6R8sv3oqfOvLnj4yEwo0fLi1efcOdNaftltTknNugb-AVHT5U60EunGnJXVq5w.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQOLEnVsxvPvIzcm2zEUnlJMG9n29xopE0aLg4JBMM0HDq_Vq82jU9g2gMLCyxjuajLsimFkupo3azmJIJv0UG-48elnW8sF6R8sv3oqfOvLnj4yEwo0fLi1efcOdNaftltTknNugb-AVHT5U60EunGnJXVq5w.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQOLEnVsxvPvIzcm2zEUnlJMG9n29xopE0aLg4JBMM0HDq_Vq82jU9g2gMLCyxjuajLsimFkupo3azmJIJv0UG-48elnW8sF6R8sv3oqfOvLnj4yEwo0fLi1efcOdNaftltTknNugb-AVHT5U60EunGnJXVq5w.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQOLEnVsxvPvIzcm2zEUnlJMG9n29xopE0aLg4JBMM0HDq_Vq82jU9g2gMLCyxjuajLsimFkupo3azmJIJv0UG-48elnW8sF6R8sv3oqfOvLnj4yEwo0fLi1efcOdNaftltTknNugb-AVHT5U60EunGnJXVq5w.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQOLEnVsxvPvIzcm2zEUnlJMG9n29xopE0aLg4JBMM0HDq_Vq82jU9g2gMLCyxjuajLsimFkupo3azmJIJv0UG-48elnW8sF6R8sv3oqfOvLnj4yEwo0fLi1efcOdNaftltTknNugb-AVHT5U60EunGnJXVq5w.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":240737,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=240737","url_meta":{"origin":282655,"position":2},"title":"Nat Gas to be Totally Green","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/20\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This is an update about Non-Emissions Technology (NET) regarding natural gas as an energy source.\u00a0 Gas is already the cleanest burning fossil fuel, and now power plants are being built which will in addition entirely eliminate CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-900.png?fit=1200%2C487&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-900.png?fit=1200%2C487&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-900.png?fit=1200%2C487&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-900.png?fit=1200%2C487&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-900.png?fit=1200%2C487&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":219635,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=219635","url_meta":{"origin":282655,"position":3},"title":"The Great Wind Power Swindle: Households &#038; Businesses Being Crushed by Record Power Bills","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/19\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"If wind power is cheap, why does every country obsessed with it suffer rocketing power prices?","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=219635#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-949.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-949.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-949.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-949.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-949.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":400309,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=400309","url_meta":{"origin":282655,"position":4},"title":"Greenpeace Call For Strategic Reserve of Gas\u00a0Plants","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The government could save energy users \u00a35bn a year by overhauling the electricity market to stop gas-fired power stations from setting the wholesale price for electricity, according to the former energy tsar.","rel":"","context":"In \"Department for Energy Security and Net Zero\"","block_context":{"text":"Department for Energy Security and Net Zero","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=department-for-energy-security-and-net-zero"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":284762,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=284762","url_meta":{"origin":282655,"position":5},"title":"\u2018Britain will need gas to avoid blackouts for decades\u2019","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/24\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The UK could experience its first large-scale blackout in decades this winter if gas shortages\u00a0combine with particularly cold weather.\u00a0A very cold winter with serious supply problems from Europe does raise the risk of power disruption significantly. The man running Britain\u2019s gas network has said the country will need fossil fuels\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Blackouts\"","block_context":{"text":"Blackouts","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=blackouts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_Family-sitting-by-the-candles-during-the-blackout.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_Family-sitting-by-the-candles-during-the-blackout.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_Family-sitting-by-the-candles-during-the-blackout.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_Family-sitting-by-the-candles-during-the-blackout.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/04_Family-sitting-by-the-candles-during-the-blackout.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=282655"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282665,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282655\/revisions\/282665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/282663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=282655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=282655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=282655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}