Painting "Don Quixote, Sancho, and the Prairie Turbines" by Phillip Epp. Click for link.David Rose has a an article in the Spectator this morning, looking at politicians' evasions on the energy crisis. This bit struck a chord.
The total renewable subsidy which UK consumers will have paid via higher energy bills for the ten years to 2020 will be an almighty £46 billion. Even this eye-watering figure is a massive underestimate. This week, the National Audit Office said bills were likely to rise above inflation for at least 17 years, with the cost of government commitments likely to be at least £700 per household. According to the energy experts Professor Gordon Hughes of Edinburgh University and Peter Atherton of Liberum Capital, the Energy Bill figure does not factor in the enormous cost of connecting wind turbines to the National Grid, nor the complicated switching mechanisms needed to deal with the fact that no turbine will actually produce power for more than a third of the time. They say the true green bill by 2020 could be more than £100 billion, with households paying around £400 more per household for electricity alone.
The persistent dishonesty of DECC ministers and officials in pretending that grid connections are nothing to do with the renewables industry is something that can and should be held against them. They know they are misleading the public and their political colleagues simply give them a free pass.