Wind loses power as support wanes

Daily Telegraph
Thursday 21/9/2006 Page: 28

Wind power will be a major contributor to man's future energy needs, potentially providing more than a third of the world's electricity by 2050, a new report said.

Launched yesterday by Greenpeace and the Global Wind Energy Council, the report said wind power, second only to solar power as the world's fastest growing energy source, had the potential to eliminate 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.

But the report also warned the industry was faltering in Australia, with the federal government persistently choosing dirty fossil fuels over clean, renewable energy. Australia has worldclass wind resources," said Greenpeace Australia Pacific energy campaigner Mark Wakeham. Federal and state governments should support wind power development via mandatory targets and by cutting back subsidies for fossil fuels."

Report author Sven Teske said Australia could be a global wind leader but needed an economically integrated industry with a manufacturing base, not just stand-alone projects. Wind is already cost competitive with gas in some locations and will become cheaper than coal in the future," Mr Teske said.