17 November 2016
Response to Reuters article on offshore wind – 16 November 2016
On 16 November, a Reuters article on offshore wind cited that: “Coal is still the cheapest energy source at between 50 and 90 euros per megawatt hour, according to industry group WindEurope.”
The article wrongly attributes the data and statement to WindEurope as the reference source after consulting a page on the economics of wind energy. The original data comes from the European Commission’s “Subsidies and Costs of EU Energy” report published in November 2014. The association approached Reuters to request a correction, which was not forthcoming.
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “The attribution of this statement to WindEurope is incorrect. The source of the data is from a study published over two years ago by the European Commission. Since then, the economics of energy generation, in Europe and around the world, have transformed significantly. It is now clear that the costs of onshore and offshore wind energy are declining rapidly. Onshore wind is the cheapest form of new power generation available to us today. Cheaper than coal, gas and other forms of power generation. And recent tender awards in the Netherlands and Denmark show that offshore wind is beginning to compete on a par with conventional generation.”
