Wind turbines are the most practical and cost-efficient source of renewable energy available to the UK. That was the message of a recent talk by Marcus Trinick QC, hosted by Transition Town Lewes at the Elephant and Castle in April.

Trinick, a leading lawyer in renewable energy, explained in his talk – Growing Turbines: Planning for Windfarms – that the sums for generating energy don’t add up without wind.  EU law means that the UK will effectively need to more than double its renewable electricity share to 30 per cent by 2020, with the bulk likely to come from onshore and offshore windfarms, he said.

Marcus Trinick QC outlines the case for windfarms.

Onshore wind is one of the cheapest renewable sources available, costing £80 per megawatt hour compared to £140 for nuclear power, for example (not to mention the far shorter lead times for setting up a windfarm compared to a nuclear power station). More…