The World in 2030

The World in 2030 209
energy they produced cost around $2 per kWh. Now
the blades are up to 40 metres long and turbines produce
up to 2.5MW each at a cost of 5-8 cents per
kWh, depending on location (coal-fired electricity,
depending on the plant, costs 2-4 cents per kWh).
And there are even 5MW prototypes in existence,
with 62-metre blades. 399
But although naturally windy areas like coastlines (and
island nations like New Zealand, the UK and Ireland) are
able to take advantage of frequent strong winds, not all are
doing so. For example, whilst Britain has taken a significant
lead in getting climate change onto the international policy
agenda, its domestic performance lags far behind the political
rhetoric. The UK generates only 1,353MW of power from
wind turbines compared with 18,428MW in Germany,
10,027MW in Spain and 3,122MW in Denmark. 400
Of course, wind is not a reliable force of nature and wind
power on its own cannot replace other sources of energy no
matter how many wind farms are built (even if the protests
of the anti-wind turbine campaigners can be overcome).
And electricity is a ‘live’ commodity which must be used as
soon as it can be generated and distributed. No long-term
storage of electricity is currently economically possible. This
means that when the wind does not blow wind turbines can
produce no power.
But one invention tested on King Island in the Straits
of Tasmania, Australia does suggest that some limited longterm
local storage of electricity may become possible, which
increases the role that wind power generation may play in