Sir,
I note that you report (12 Sept 2017, Scottish Energy News) the subsidised offered price of £57.50/MWhr for two recent offshore wind farm applications.
We of course pay the subsidy as well. Should that not be included in the price offered?
The true cost of wind needs assessment of the total systems cost of incorporating unreliable wind energy. The only one I have seen is from Colin Gibson former Power Director of the National Grid and can be accessed from the IESIS (www.iesis.org) web page.
His conclusions place offshore as in total nearly three times the cost of gas or current nuclear.
Wind energy is now a mature technology. In that case should it not now compete for electricity-generating slots with other sources in the energy auctions?
Frequency of failure to provide electricity as required with the ensuing penalty would then indicate the true cost of unreliability which is surely essential.
Professor Tony Trewavas (FRS)
Edinburgh University
13 Sept 2017
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