Offshore wind farm [image credit: Wikipedia]
Will Brexit bitterness ever die? Renewables are now mired in international politics.
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Brussels has launched a legal challenge over the use of British parts in the UK’s offshore wind farms, reports the Telegraph.
The European Commission submitted its complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the first such move it has made since Brexit.
The UK Government asks offshore wind farm developers to say how many of the parts they are using are from Britain.
The UK insists the so-called “local content” request is within the rules of the WTO.
Five new offshore wind factories have been set up in the UK over the past 12 months alone, leading to 3,000 jobs and involving £1.5bn of private investment.
A Whitehall source said: “At a time when the West should be united in defeating Putin, this act of envy by Brussels is ill-judged ill-timed. We should be working together to strengthen European clean energy security, not fighting this out in court.
“Our policies to boost Britain’s offshore wind industry are comparable to many other schemes in the EU, so we are puzzled why Brussels are challenging our scheme when they do pretty much the same.”
Continued here.
Alternative report: EU takes legal action on Brexit Britain’s ‘discriminatory’ plans for ‘home-grown’ energy — Daily Express.
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
It’s good to get an occasional reminder of why you got out of the EU.
Friends and partners ??
[…] Brussels takes legal action against UK over use of British parts in wind farms […]
Putting British parts into British wind farms. How dare they? 😆
“Discriminatory trade practices, such as local content criteria in the UK’s subsidy scheme, directly harm EU suppliers.” – Erm…so what? Does the EU favour UK suppliers?
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Daily Express: The UK plans to quadruple offshore wind capacity in the next eight years and is said to have international developers queueing up to build multiple projects.
Since December, the UK has reportedly asked bidders to outline how much of the contract’s value will be produced in the UK to determine their eligibility.
Bidders from the EU aren’t going to be popular if this legal case is anything to go by.
I don’t understand the basic premise of this complaint or post. Why shouldn’t we make all our own wind turbines?
Of course the whol thing is regressively stupid on the engineering and economic facts.
GIven that its is deliberately structured waste of money, over subsidised to profit the lobbyists and bankers involved with easy guaranteed profits by law at bill payers regressive expense..
The lowest cost lowest emissions route to supposed net zero targets is demonstrably to build CCGT and fracking the gas to get to nuclear as fast as possible with NO MORE renewables, dead money, is the best way to meet the supposed goals cheapest, if that was the real reason for renewables/wind power in the first place.
But Bird chopping subsidy farming prolongs the use of the gas CCGT that must stay on the grid to support supply continuity up to 100% of wind capacity when it doesn’t blow. So obviously fraudulent extortion, legalised by a racketeering government , for the easy profits of its renewable subsidy lobbyists. Also the enabling ministers and civil servants who are parasitic on the regressive cash flows their climate laws enable, in many ways, as directors, advisors, investors, consultants, etc. No doubt increasing British content will enrich them further through the same cash flow diversion, But at least we are enriching our own corrupt government racketeers, not Johny foreigner’s.
PS BUT whichever corrupt ministers and civil servants get their hands on it most of the profits will end up in offshore accounts in an Island that still isn’t sinking, so won’t benefit the UK – or any EU economy. The climate shell game racket rolls on.
another friendly little reminder: LOOK and see that there has been so very little power been produced from the windnills this past week or two. Why bother investing in any more – like fishing for more fish in a pond that’s dried up – and they’re not catfish.
Wind 3.4% and gas 56.5% of electricity gen at the moment. This is ‘the Saudi Arabia of wind’?
Speaking of UnReliables, three recent stories caught my eye.
One close to home here in St Andrews Bay in the Saudi Arabia of wind, aka Sturge -ons Scotland.
The Irish firm entrusted with installing the underground cables across Carnoustie Budden Links golf course to an inland substation, has gone burst
In Victoria Australia the High Court has found against a windmill company for causing sleepless nights to local residents and awarded damages and a restraining order on them until a solution can be found.
Meanwhile in the land where the great global warming scam was calved in Nazi Green Germany, the arch environ-Mental group called Naturschbund Deutschland (NARU) – that’s a Pacific island I once visited – are up in arms against the destruction of the famous Grimms Brothers fairy tale forest to build giant eco crucifixes.
So perhaps all is not yet lost.
Hmm, ‘all is not lost’ ….the irony of it all once again. No, all is never lost – just so broken up beyond repair. Sheer vandalism of our environment which is living history. and the rest. Water like policies has flown like spillt milk. leaves a sour taste and bad smell, upsets many , but is soon forgtotten and is made fresh again to be rugurgitated once more. Maybe, just MAYBE, like the Scour of young calves under stress, will it become so b ad that folk will wake up and take notice: only to keep on complaining until the smell stops as that generation dies. ……. ……
More to the point, is the government using British-made parts even though they are more expensive at a time when the cost of energy is becoming ever more important?