Fresh energy

Is it the Cameron effect? Or perhaps those stranded polar bears? Whatever the cause ‘green’ electricity seems to be this year’s must-have. Julian Rollins talks to Ecotricity about exciting times in the wind industry.

New turbines are going up at an impressive rate around Britain. This February marked a milestone for the industry when the Braes of Doune wind farm, near Stirling, brought the UK’s total operational wind power capacity to more than two gigawatts [GF63, ‘Like the wind ’]. The first gigawatt took an arduous 14 years, but the second was added in just 20 months.

At Ecotricity’s Gloucestershire offices phones and inboxes are busier than ever, says founder Dale Vince. He’s delighted that, after years of go-slow in the industry, things are finally moving. That said, he reminds us that the UK’s impressive-sounding two- gigawatt supply is just 1.5% of the country’s electricity requirement, and that we’re lagging well behind growth in demand for the stuff.

Much of that demand is coming from the business sector. He says: “Because carbon reduction is on the agenda in boardrooms across the country, big companies are out there hoovering up available green power - and there’s only so much to go around.”

But, for Vince, the rush for green tariffs is a bit of a corporate “cop out”. “It’s not as bad as tree-planting and carbon offsetting,” he concedes. “But it is passing responsibility to someone else. The responsible thing is to buy your energy in a way that makes new capacity happen.”

By that he means signing up to a tariff which reinvests money in new wind turbines. “The philosophy behind Ecotricity’s ‘New Energy’ is that we take the money our customers spend with us on energy and invest it each year in newbuild - pound for pound,” explains Vince.

Companies that want to go that bit further can take part in Ecotricity’s Merchant Wind Power (MWP) programme. It involves businesses striking a deal with Ecotricity to take turbines on their property and buy the electricity they generate. For clients the benefits include a high profile symbol of green credibility and cheaper electricity. Vince points out that his existing MWP clients are now getting green power for the price of brown.

At the moment the company is building a turbine at Manchester City’s stadium [see GF63, ‘Blues go green’ ], three more for Bristol Port Company at Avonmouth Docks and has recently announced a deal with racing car manufacturer Group Lotus.

So, why are most businesses scrapping over an ever-diminishing pool of green tariff contracts when they could have a turbine of their own? There is, says Vince, a general reluctance to commit. “I think it’s human nature,” he says. “People tend to get carried away when they’re doing their PR about the environment and how they’re going to do this and that, but then it comes to delivery and that takes commitment.”

Another barrier to take up is a perceived risk of brand damage. There’s a fear that a prolonged battle over planning permission could reflect badly on company reputation. 

But Vince argues that that is an unfounded fear based on the “mythology” that has grown up around wind energy.

“Planning isn’t really a problem,” he says. “For Merchant Wind Power it’s a different game. It’s an easy decision for a planning authority and we’ve never had to appeal on an MWP project.”

Vince reckons businesses that opt for turbines of their own are more likely to make new friends than lose them, anyway. “Again and again the opinion polls have proved that the public like wind farms,” he says. “You have to count that approval into the equation when you’re looking at the pros and cons.”

21 June 2007

Julian Rollins