According to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), which has 499 members in the wind and tidal energy industries, the wind industry in the UK will produce more power than the nuclear industry in the next decade.
Maria McCaffery, CEO of the BWEA, said “Wind will overtake nuclear in term of installed capacity within the next four to five years”. By 2015, 9 Gigawatts will be installed offshore. This should allow the wind industry to provide electricity to every UK home by 2020.
The BWEA reported that the only danger for wind industry results from the lack of competition at manufacturers level. Three to four competitors will lead to bring down construction costs, which are expected to rise for the next few years and then decline from current levels until 2015. Today’s construction prices are about £3.1 million per Megawatt of installed capacity.