Doubts Over New UK Wind Farm
May 27, 2006 at 4:55 am
A pricey £1.5bn wind farm planned off the Kent and Essex coast may not go ahead because of such high development costs.
The London Array project would see 270 turbines built which would produce electricity for a large part of London’s population. It is a venture planned by Powergen electricity group E.On alongside oil giant Shell and Danish group Energi2 and if it goes ahead will be an important contributor to the UK’s renewable energy targets.
Planning applications are still going ahead but even if they do go through there are still big doubts due to the high cost of both materials and construction. There are concerns over the cost of steel for the turbines and masts and copper for the cables and with the majority of the world’s windmill production being in the US also, the costs remain high.
As well as these development costs, the companies backing the projects (E.On, Shell and Energi2) would have to put a huge amount of money upfront to guarantee the wind farm will be plugged into the electricity network – this could be as much as £150m. E.On have already pulled out of a large planned offshore wind farm in Wales saying that “it isn’t possible under current market conditions”. With delays already evident in this new project, the future of the London Array project doesn’t look too stable.
Smart Metering
May 9, 2006 at 10:16 am
A trial of smart metering was started last month which will see 3,000 homes installed with the new devices over the next couple of years. The trial is an initiative being managed by EDF Energy and fuel poverty charity National Energy Action.
Smart meters with put an end to the current system of manual meter readings by energy company staff as they will be monitored remotely so that accurate readings can always be obtained. They will end the need for estimated readings when the meter man is unable to get into certain properties and the best feature of the meters will be that consumers can see exactly how much energy they are using and how quickly their bill is rising. Features include costs in £/p being displayed and whether a low/med or high amount of energy is being used.
It is hoped that during a time when energy costs are continually rising and energy saving is high on the agenda, these new meters will really help cut costs and usage. By actually watching the readings rise and seeing how much certain appliances are costing, consumers are more likely to take action to reduce bills.
There is a concern about these new smart meters however as a decision has not yet been made who will pay for them. After 2008 it will be European regulation to have them installed when a new meter is put in but energy companies are reluctant to front the cost as consumers could then switch suppliers soon after. This would mean it would be difficult to pass on the cost to the consumer through their fuel bills.
More information about smart metering can be found on this energywatch factsheet.
