Today a huge coalition[1] of companies and civil society
organisations including Greenpeace, WWF and the Marine
Conservation Society launched a new campaign by taking over
Westminster tube station with posters on their walls and ticket
gates with the message that electricity from offshore wind is
half the price it was just two years ago[2].
Launching the campaign in Westminster tube station, where
ministers and MPs will be walking past striking images of
offshore wind farms, Peter Capaldi (Dr
Who, The Thick of It, Local Hero) said:
“Great Britain is the world leader in a technology which can
generate huge amounts of energy without using any fuel. It’s
safe, secure, zero-carbon and economical. In fact it's halved in
price in just under two years. That’s 50% off. It’s a great deal.
And it may just save the planet. The future of energy in the UK
is offshore wind power.”
Emma Thompson, who visited an offshore wind
farm[3] to help launch the campaign, said:
“It’s the most fantastic deal for the UK and it’s creating
thousands of jobs in regions where unemployment has been, of
late, very high. It’s the best news I’ve had in years. It’s
creating jobs, it’s regenerating coastal areas, and it’s
providing clean, beautiful green energy for us, our children and
our grandchildren.”
A YouGov poll[4], commissioned by Greenpeace and released today,
shows that offshore wind is by far the most popular large scale
technology for the UK’s energy future, three times more popular
than nuclear and an astonishing twenty times more popular than
gas. The results were consistent over age, sex, class, party
allegiance, and the poll even united leavers and remainers[5].
John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace
UK, said:
“We’ve known for a long time that renewable energy was much more
popular with the British public than any of the alternatives. Now
that offshore wind is more than cost-competitive with every other
energy option, we have a way forward for UK energy policy. This
should please ministers across the spectrum from industry, the
environment and the treasury. Even No 10 should be popping the
champagne at this great news.”
Statements from the energy industry
Matthew Wright, Managing Director
for DONG Energy UK, said:
“Offshore wind presents a massive opportunity for the UK. Costs
are falling rapidly, long-term and highly-skilled jobs are being
created across the north of England and the UK supply chain is
going from strength to strength. The industry has already come
such a long way and we truly believe it can become the backbone
of the UK’s energy transformation. We’re seeing the benefits of
commitment to this technology by successive governments and
what’s so exciting is that there’s still a lot more to come.”
RenewableUK’s Executive
Director Emma Pinchbeck said:
“Offshore wind has rewritten the rulebook, sending costs tumbling
down, which is great news for consumers. As new offshore wind is
now cheaper than new gas and nuclear, it’s the natural technology
of choice to play a leading role in the UK’s modern clean energy
mix. Offshore wind is also a major industry, providing an
economic lifeline to ports and seaside towns around our coastline
and throughout the country as the multi-billion pound supply
chain grows”.
Paul Cooley, SSE’s
Director of Generation Development said:
“Investment in offshore wind creates opportunities to develop the
wider UK supply chain and brings value to local economies and
local communities. Already Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited has
helped foster UK and Scottish supply chains for the offshore
sector and has had a positive impact on local lives and
livelihoods. We aim to deliver the same again through both the
Dogger Bank and Seagreen offshore wind projects and hope that
similar economic benefits will be replicated across the UK
offshore wind industry.”
Jonathan Cole, Managing Director for Offshore
Wind at ScottishPower Renewables,
said:
“With more than 50% cost reduction in recent years, offshore wind
is becoming the lowest cost way to decarbonise our electricity
sector and keep the lights on in the UK. When you also
consider that offshore wind will support tens of thousands of
high quality jobs in the parts of the country that need them the
most, it begins to look like a great deal for everyone. The
industry and government need to continue to build on this
momentum and really unleash the power of offshore wind in the
UK.”
ENDS
Contact
Graham Thompson – 07801 212
960 or graham.thompson@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace UK Press Office – 020 7865
8255 or press.uk@greenpeace.org
For stills and video, please check here AFTER 11am
– http://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MZIFJXSJANE
Video may take longer to be uploaded.
Notes
- The coalition consists of Coalition list are Dong Energy,
General Electric, Scottish Power Renewables, Siemens Gamesa, SSE,
Vattenfall, Greenpeace, Marine Conservation Society and WWF.
-
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/09/13/offshore-wind-is-now-competitive-with-gas/
-
https://www.facebook.com/greenpeaceuk/videos/10154237828779229/
- Poll results from YouGov -https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/vqgjv4zb68/Greenpeace_Results_170922_W.pdf
- Overall results were offshore wind 58%, nuclear 19%, gas 3%.
Results for different demographics varied, with offshore wind
48-74%, nuclear 10-29% and gas 2-6%.
