Professor Keith Bell, IET member and holder of the ScottishPower chair in future power systems at the University of Strathclyde
Governments all over the world agree that the protection of lives and livelihoods from the massive impacts of climate change demands the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For that to happen, energy systems must be transformed over time to eliminate the unabated use of fossil fuels. Although that is extremely challenging, the means to do it are available, primarily through wind and solar energy.
In Britain, we’re lucky to have fantastic wind resources and an industry that has proven its ability to deliver wind farm projects with a lower average cost of energy production than new gas-fired electricity generation, certainly at current gas prices. Moreover, making more use of low-carbon energy reduces our reliance on an uncertain fossil fuel market – one that has cost the UK taxpayer tens of billions of pounds in recent years to protect energy users from the worst...