• DocumentCode
    787526
  • Title

    Has wind power converged?

  • Author

    Swift-Hook, Donald

  • Volume
    42
  • Issue
    2
  • fYear
    1996
  • fDate
    3/21/1996 12:00:00 AM
  • Firstpage
    72
  • Lastpage
    73
  • Abstract
    The author discusses the different levels of investment in wind energy in Germany, the USA and the UK. In the UK the visible success of government intervention under the nonfossil obligations is the envy of the world. In the eyes of a Conservative government, any subsidy is suspect, and the declared aim of its support is convergence. The government wants to see prices for subsidised energy converge with typical free-market energy prices. The successful British method is to auction the subsidies. Anyone can bid the price at which their scheme will generate electricity. Then the government allows support for only the cheapest ones. This has driven prices fiercely downwards, and convergence is getting very close. There are some who say that convergence has already been reached and that wind energy is now economic in its own right. This suggestion is not too popular with the wind industry itself, because it would mean the end of attractive government subsidies
  • Keywords
    economics; investment; wind power; free-market energy prices; government subsidies; investment; nonfossil obligations; wind power;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    IEE Review
  • Publisher
    iet
  • ISSN
    0953-5683
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1049/ir:19960213
  • Filename
    489745