UK: EDF Faces Accusations Regarding Redcar Windfarm’s Carbon Dioxide Saving

It seems that the accusations, saying that the projected savings in carbon dioxide emissions, amounting to 200,000 tonnes a year of Redcar’s offshore windfarm, are not overstated, Gazette live reports.

Namely, EDF Energy Renewables launched construction in February of an offshore windfarm at Redcar, Teesside, comprising of 27 turbines of 200Gwh/y. The windfarm is supposed to generate pollution free electricity, equivalent to the typical annual domestic demand of approximately 40,000 homes.

However, the announcements on considerable savings raised many eyebrows and scepticism, claiming that the figures have nothing to do with reality.

By using standards of Renewables UK to calculate savings Malcolm Covell, of New Marske, a keen follower of the national debate about windfarms said that:

“old, discredited figures calculated in 2001, EDF came up with a 250% exaggeration of the true figure of only 80,000 tonnes”.

“They made a very basic mistake in not using figures agreed by the wind industry back in 2008”, he added.

Nevertheless, the allegations were contested by EDF spokesman, who pointed out that:

“When the power output of the Teesside windfarm is compared to the same amount of electricity provided by a coal-fired power station, the saving would be about 200,000 tonnes.

When compared with a mix of power generation sources, including gas for example, it would be between 80,000-90,000 tonnes”, concluding that both figures are correct.

[mappress]

Offshore WIND staff, March 29, 2012; Image: edf