Onshore wind can compete against any other source of energy in the UK without subsidy if it is allowed to compete freely, according to Vestas chief executive Anders Runevad.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Runevad said UK planning laws restricting turbine tip heights to 125 metres prevented the deployment of larger rotor-diameter turbines, which would reduce costs and increase the amount of power generated.
“We can compete in a market-based system in onshore wind and we are happy to take on the challenge, so long as we are able to use our latest technology,” he said.
“The UK has a tip-height restriction of 125 meters and this is cumbersome. Our new generation is well above that.”
Runevad added onshore wind costs have come down by 80% in the past 20 years. “They have come down by 50% in the US since 2009,” he said.
Vestas received turbine orders for 6275MW worth €5.8bn in the first nine months of 2015, a rise from 4290MW and €3.7bn last year. Vestas’ firm and unconditional turbine orders tallied 1508MW and €1.5bn in Q3 2015, up from 1170MW and €1bn a year earlier.
Image: Vestas chief executive Anders Runevad (Vestas)
Vestas: UK missing out on cheap wind
Onshore wind can compete without subsidy if turbine tip height restrictions removed
By EBS