Copyright 2003 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London,England)

December 22, 2003, Monday London Edition 2

SECTION: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR; Pg. 18

LENGTH: 210 words

HEADLINE: DTI inflates its renewables result

BYLINE: By JOHN BOWER

BODY:
From Dr John Bower.

Sir, Andrew Taylor ("Thames estuary to be part of world's biggest wind
energy scheme", December 18) inadvertently misleads the reader by stating
that the planned UK offshore wind development programme will be "enough to
power more than 15 per cent of British homes".

As these wind turbines will operate for about a third of the year, after
taking account of mechanical failures and intermittency of the wind, they
will generate only enough electricity to meet about 5 per cent of total UK
annual electricity demand. The laws of physics dictate that the electricity
from them will flow over the transmission system to every class of consumer
- not just to homes. By definition, this means that when we switch on our
kettle in a few years' time only 5 per cent of the electricity that comes
out of the wall socket will, on average, have been generated by a wind
turbine built under this scheme.

The article appears to be quoting directly from a Department of Trade and
Industry press release and I am left wondering why the government feels it
necessary to present the outcome of its renewables policy in this inaccurate
and inflated way.

John Bower, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies,
Oxford OX2 6FA

LOAD-DATE: December 21, 2003