Government wind energy targets 'too high'

The government's wind energy targets have been set too high, one organisation has claimed.

According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the government's "over-ambitious" targets are unlikely to be achieved effectively and will crowd out investment in other low-carbon resources.

The CBI is now calling for a shift in the direction of UK energy policy and has warned that incentivising investment in wind power will lead to the neglect of nuclear and coal energy.

John Cridland, deputy director general at the CBI, commented: "The question is whether the government's target has an unintended consequence which is perverse for the overall expansion of renewables in what it does without expecting."

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK offshore winds have the potential to provide the country with an extra 25GW of new electricity generation capacity.

Written by Joseph Hutton