Myth Of Offshore Wind Being Expensive Debunked – Wind Power Now Cheaper Than Gas-Fired And Nuclear Power

Over the past few years, wind power has seen major advancements in both design and efficiency. The Inquisitr reported on the latest happenings on such overall wind power improvement. Pertaining to design, the “wind tree” is a device containing numerous miniature wind turbines capable of producing a decent amount of electricity. As for efficiency, it is now reported that China’s wind power produces more electricity than the United States’ nuclear power plants.

Now there are reports that wind power isn’t just more efficient than both gas-fired and nuclear power, but is also cheaper. This also includes offshore wind too.

According to Minds, Mike Parr, an analyst from Denmark, uncovered that today’s wind generators are actually cheaper to build and maintain, and they produce cheaper electricity; up to 60 percent cheaper. Utilizing public information on offshore wind turbines, Parr came up with such a conclusion that all three are associated to the fact that wind energy does not require the acquisition of fuel to operate.

“When we analyze the available data, we can draw some interesting conclusions about the evolution of costs in offshore wind. Offshore wind turbines already appear to be cheaper than combined-cycle gas turbines.”

Mike Parr actually goes into further detail in his article for Energy Post, in which he provides answers to some of the big questions pertaining to wind energy. It is also in this article Parr that debunks the myth that offshore wind turbines are too expensive. Apparently, the reason for such a belief is because said offshore wind turbines are receiving large subsidies. However, they are technically not needed, as the efficiency of the offshore wind turbines is analyzed to be efficient, ergo its operators are making a ton of cash.

Now there may be a lot of information available supporting the view that wind power is more efficient and cheaper than nuclear and gas-fired fuel, but it is technically not foolproof. Both nuclear and gas-fired have been tried and tested to be consistent proven power sources. Wind energy only works in areas that provide wind. So in order for wind energy to be optimal, accurate weather reports are important.

The following video by DNews provides an excellent summary on the relationship between wind (and solar) energy to both gas-fired and nuclear energy. Presently, we are unable to live 100 percent off of wind and sunlight. Until the efficiency of both improves, gas-fired and nuclear energy.

[Image via David McNew/Getty]