Government announces green light for wind power

wind turbines at sea

The government has given the go-ahead this week for an ambitious programme of offshore wind farms to be developed around the UK coastline. Under plans announced by the Secretary for State and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, 1 in 6 households will be powered by energy harnessed from wind power by 2010. That's equivalent to every home in the south-east of England.

Greenpeace applauds this news as we have been consistently campaigning to show the Government the benefits of clean energy over dirty and dangerous nuclear power. Climate campaigner Rob Gueterbock said, "Global warming from CO2 gas poses a unique threat to our planet, but the Government is now demonstrating the ambition to defeat it."

The announcement is a big boost for the renewable energy industry and will create over 20,000 new jobs in manufacturing, installation and maintenance.

But the battle is far from won. Even if the government has given the green light for developers to tender for approved sites, these developers still need to obtain consent for the actual plan. Some proposed wind farms have been stopped in their tracks by small but vocal, local opposition groups who are concerned about the visual impact of the wind turbines.

These groups are in the minority however, as a new opinion poll shows that public support for renewable energy is stronger than ever. Undertaken by the British Wind Energy Association, the poll shows that 74% of bill payers back the Government's target of generating 20% of electricity from renewables by 2020.