An indigenous energy source such as wind energy seriously reduces the exposure of our economy to fuel price hikes and falls according to a report published recently by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
This risk reduction provided by wind energy is not usually taken into account when different energy technology costs are compared. The EWEA report says that current calculation methods “quite blatantly favour the use of high-risk options for power generation…but that as the world becomes more dependent on importing fuel from politically unstable areas at unpredictable and higher prices, this aspect merits immediate attention“.
The EWEA says it is cheaper for power generators to dispose of their waste i.e. fly ashes, carbon dioxide and sulphur oxides amongst others but that this creates significant costs for others in our society. The price of dealing with health effects and climate change are not accounted for when comparing traditional fossil fuel power stations with wind farms.
The EWEA report attempts to start to remedy the problem by presenting a methodology for comparison assessments putting fuel price risk directly into the analysis of the best choice of energy sources. The EWEA would like the methodology to go further in the future and introduce a real price on carbon too.
