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Wind power more economic than nuclear

Generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants, Europe’s climate chief has said, in the latest challenge to the crisis-stricken nuclear industry.

Wind power cheaper than nuclear, says EU climate chief , Connie Hedegaard says declining cost of offshore wind energy makes it genuine alternative to crisis-hit nuclear industry Fiona Harvey in Brussels and Terry Macalister * guardian.co.uk,  17 March 2011

Generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants, Europe’s climate chief has said, in the latest challenge to the crisis-stricken nuclear industry.

Connie Hedegaard, the EU climate change commissioner, said: “Some people tend to believe that nuclear is very, very cheap, but offshore wind is cheaper than nuclear. People should believe that this is very, very cheap.”

Offshore wind energy has long been seen as an expensive way of generating power, costing about two to three times more than erecting turbines on land, but the expense is likely to come down, while the costs of nuclear energy are opaque, according to analysis by the European commission.

The nuclear crisis in Japan has led the UK, France and other countries to tell their nationals to consider leaving Tokyo, in response to fears of spreading nuclear contamination. The crisis also prompted the EU’s energy commissioner, Günther Oettinger, to say: “There is talk of an apocalypse, and I think the word is particularly well chosen.”

Wind power cheaper than nuclear, says EU climate chief | Environment | The Guardian

March 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, renewable