Lies, damn lies and official forecasts

Observer: Home wind turbines dealt a blow

Home wind turbines are significantly underperforming and in the worst cases generating less than the electricity needed to power a single lightbulb, according to the biggest study of its kind carried out in Britain.

An interim report revealed that homeowners could be being misled by the official figures for wind speeds because they are consistently overestimating how much wind there is - sometimes finding that real speeds are only one third of those forecast. In the worst case scenario, the figures indicate that it would take more than 15 years to generate enough 'clean' energy to compensate for the manufacture of the turbine in the first place.

Inefficient home wind turbines aren't the real story here. In case you missed it, let me repeat the key phrase:

official figures for wind speeds […] are consistently overestimating how much wind there is

In other words, the UK government is overestimating—by up to a factor of three—the amount of wind there actually is.

That's the same UK government that wants to build 7,000 offshore wind turbines which, according to UK Business Secretary John Hutton, are "going to change our coastline, yes for sure".

Can you smell the coffee yet?

See also: Ever felt you've been had?

Richard Carter

A fat, bearded chap with a Charles Darwin fixation.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *