An “irrational phobia” on the part of the UK’s ruling Conservative party is slowing the development of onshore wind projects, according to Business Secretary Vince Cable, a Liberal Democrat serving in a coalition Cabinet with the Conservatives.
“We have a problem, and it’s a political problem: For reasons I don’t fully understand, our coalition partners have a pathological aversion to onshore wind,” Cable said earlier this month. Energy Secretary Ed Davey, also a Liberal, vowed to ban coal-fired electricity by 2025 if his party forms the next government.
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Days later, the Guardian reported on an analysis by the European Union that pointed to wind as the least expensive source of electricity, “cheaper than coal, gas, or nuclear energy when the costs of ‘external’ factors like air quality, human toxicity, and climate change are taken into account.” (h/t to InsideClimate News for pointing us to the Guardian story)
