(Bloomberg) — Onshore wind power brought in as much as 906
million pounds ($1.4 billion) for the U.K. economy last year, a
renewables lobby said as the ruling Conservative Party vowed to
end industry subsidies if they win a May 7 election.
The “gross value added” revenue was up 65 percent from
2011, RenewableUK said in a report published Wednesday, without
giving figures for subsequent years. Each megawatt generated
reels in more than 2 million pounds over its lifetime, and 69
percent of industry spending remains in the country, it said.
“Onshore wind powers local economies, bringing 199 million
pounds of investment into the local communities that host wind
farms and creating jobs,” Chief Executive Officer Maria McCaffery said. “Onshore wind is already the lowest cost of all
low carbon options and is set to become the least cost form of
all electricity within the next five years.”
The Conservatives pledged this month to halt all subsidies
to onshore wind if they win the election, a move the industry
says will stop the U.K. expanding its cheapest renewable energy.
Electricity from onshore wind farms currently costs about
$85 a megawatt-hour, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
That’s cheaper than coal power at about $90.70 a megawatt-hour.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Louise Downing in London at
ldowning4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Tony Barrett, Randall Hackley