Blogposts tagged 'Wind Power'

While the humanitarian crisis and nuclear emergency unfold in Japan, an interesting observation has arisen from the devastation: Japanese wind farms have rebuffed critics, by withstanding both the tsunami and earthquake to continue delivering electricity to the tragedy-struck nation.

If you've ever tried to convince people down the pub about wind power and how it can help steer us away from climate catastrophe, you'll be familiar with the arguments used to dismiss it. The technology is too expensive; electricity bills will rocket; and (one that's often tripped me up) what happens when the wind stops blowing and the lights go out?

If that's the case, then for your next pub discussion arm yourself with a new study by energy analyst David Milborrow which successfully trounces all those claims and more. A joint commission by Greenpeace, WWF, RSPB and Friends of the Earth, it's being launched in advance of the government's renewable energy strategy that is expected next week.

Our Communications Director Tamara is next up in the blog relay - a whistle-stop tour of Greenpeace staff here in the UK. Click here to catch up on the other entries.

Having spent the last three years living in China, I and all of my Chinese colleagues became somewhat accustomed to what we referred to as "China bashing" by some of the international media. You know the sort of thing: the over-the-top, almost hysterical cry of "China's eating up all the world's resources!" Since China is now one of the world's largest manufacturing centres, the claim was applied to almost anything - timber, coal, or even the cobalt used to make our cell phone batteries. To a certain degree, therefore, there is a kernel - but not much more - of truth to the claim.

Canadian tar sands - According to Shell, more profitable than wind or solar power. But at what cost to the environment?

We've got so used to big oil companies trying to use tiny investments in renewable energy as fig leafs for their core business of pumping oil, that in a way, an oil company just turning round and issuing a big 'screw you' to such pretensions might almost seen slightly refreshing, if only for the novelty value.

Well, in theory. But it's hard to read yesterday's press statement from Shell without your heart sinking. With regards to wind and solar power, Shell said that they do "not expect material amounts of investment in those areas going forward. [Wind and solar] continue to struggle to compete with the other investment opportunities we have in our portfolio."

Even all the slippery corporate-speak in the world can't obscure that message. In more straightforward language, it might read: "forget the environment; we're in it for the cash."