Wind Power Advocates Admit Blowing Wind

(UK) It must be particularly unnerving to the greenies that math skills are important.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) has agreed to scale down its calculation for the amount of harmful carbon dioxide emission that can be eliminated by using wind turbines to generate electricity instead of burning fossil fuels such as coal or gas.

The move is a serious setback for the advocates of wind power, as it will be regarded as a concession that twice as many wind turbines as previously calculated will be needed to provide the same degree of reduction in Britain's carbon emissions.

A wind farm industry source admitted: "It's not ideal for us. It's the result of pressure by the anti-wind farm lobby."

For several years the BWEA – which lobbies on behalf of wind power firms – claimed that electricity from wind turbines 'displaces' 860 grams of carbon dioxide emission for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated.

However it has now halved that figure to 430 grams, following discussions with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

I'm guessing that some person remarked, "Hey, you guys wouldn't be nearly so loud in your pronouncements if you used a calculator. For those who are unfamiliar with calculators, it's a thing with buttons that does arithmetic."

In any event, the amount of carbon offset is simply fodder to convince the public that wind power is a viable option. What isn't being discussed is the cost. Wind power is not viable unless it's coupled with massive energy price increases to the public and/or massive taxpayer-funded infusions of money to support the wind farms. As an energy source in a competitive market, wind power would be priced exorbitantly, garnering few buyers and likely fewer investors.