Wind farms could be built along HS2 route under confidential Government plans

By Paul Homewood

 

 

h/t Ian

 

This will put the cat among the pigeons!

 

 

Wind farms could be built along the route of HS2 in a major resurrection of onshore turbines in Britain, under confidential Government-commissioned plans.

An official strategy document seen by The Sunday Telegraph proposes powering the controversial rail line using lucrative onshore wind farms spanning the equivalent of 19,000 football fields.

For some stretches of the line the majority of electricity would come from solar or wind farms built "on or near" the track, according to the plans. The document indicates that the move would require more land being purchased by developers along the route of the line, and could tip the scheme over its £56 billion budget.

The plan is likely to spark fury among MPs and residents who already fear the line will blight landscape.

The strategy sets out prices that would be pre-agreed with energy firms, at rates experts claimed would lead to passengers or taxpayers effectively paying a new "hidden subsidy" for wind farms, after formal subsidies were ended four years ago following a revolt by Conservative MPs.

The disclosure comes amid growing calls for the project to be scaled back or scrapped. Earlier this month The Sunday Telegraph revealed that HS2 Ltd, the Government-owned firm behind the scheme, had raised the possibility of slashing the number of trains in order to keep control over its budget. 

John Constable, director of the Renewable Energy Foundation, which publishes data on wind farms, said: "The proposed arrangements would amount to a hidden subsidy that would have to be funded by passengers or taxpayers or both. They could easily make HS2 the world’s most expensive railway."

The document, which was produced for HS2 Ltd by KPMG, sets out four options for powering the three phases of the Y-shaped line, which is due to run between London and Birmingham and then on to Manchester and Leeds.

The "preferred option" would see HS2 Ltd initially striking "power purchase agreements" (PPAs) with energy firms to provide electricity for the first two stages of the line using dedicated "assets", such as sections of solar farms as well as onshore and offshore wind farms, via the National Grid. 

For phase ‘2b’, the stretches between Crewe to Manchester and the West Midlands and Leeds which are not due to open until 2033, the firm could then adopt a "private wire solution" under which it would make use of dedicated solar or onshore wind farms directly connected to the line.

"Private wire agreements offer an alternative to corporate PPAs in that companies can invest directly in a renewable electricity generation asset on or near their own site; or alternatively commission the construction of the asset by a third party", the document states. If HS2 decided to develop the wind farms itself "it is likely there would be additional capex [capital expenditure] requirements beyond the pre-agreed budget.

"We envisage that the electricity generated under the private wire solution would be made up of solar or onshore wind," the document says.

It recognises that onshore turbines could lead to "a degree of resistance at the local level as onshore wind turbines have been considered an ‘eyesore’ by communities." But because of the unreliability of the wind, "onshore wind cannot be the only technology employed to meet HS2’s needs."

Last night an HS2 Ltd spokesman said: “We are taking a strategic long term approach for assessing how we will source electricity for HS2 operations. We commissioned an initial study of the range of potential electricity supply options, including generating renewable power from dedicated plants.

“By starting this process early we can use the time available to develop the right solution that both secures the supply of electricity to Britain’s new high speed rail network and helps reduce the railway’s carbon footprint."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/01/26/wind-farms-could-built-along-route-hs2-confidential-government/

 

HS2 is already hugely unpopular amongst communities living near to the line.

But I cannot think of anything that will annoy them more than miles of wind turbines lining the route.

As for the economics, John Constable is right that direct purchase arrangements will simply push wind subsidies onto passengers, for most of  whom HS2 is already set to be unaffordable.

It is suggested that the Stage 2 could obtain electricity direct from wind farm operators should save the railway money, as it would cut out payments to the middle man for grid costs, which ironically include renewable subsidies.

However, whatever saving accrues to HS2 would simply mean that other electricity users had to pay more than their share.

Given budget constraints, I see no possibility the government will pay for the turbines themselves. But given their mindless obsession with renewables, anything is possible.