| Ofgem says that the Scottish Renewables Obligation system is a “very expensive” way of reducing carbon emissions and is giving companies — such as Ecotricity at the tyre factory — much higher than expected returns.
So although the Michelin turbines have met with general acceptance from the public, it is consumers who are having to pay through the nose.
The present system is a complicated way of encouraging companies to invest in “green” energy by requiring energy supply companies to buy a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources.
But suppliers aren’t prepared to see profits eroded, so pass on the extra cost to customers in the form of higher bills.
The Royal Academy of Engineering, which commissioned a report on the cost of generating electricity, found that on-shore wind turbines, such as the Michelin twins, are among the costliest means of producing electricity.
The kilowatt per hour rate is well over double the cost of nuclear-generated electricity.
And that includes the enormous cost of decommissioning nuclear plants at the end of their working life. |
