Wind farms just a lot of hot air, says power guy

Wind farms and solar power energy production won't work in the long term unless storage solutions are found, the chief executive of ITM Power has stated.

Jim Heathcote maintains: "Without energy storage capability for power generated when conditions are good, wind and solar energy are virtually useless.

"This is the vital part of the jigsaw that supporters of clean energy are completely failing to see and it's tragic.
"Renewable energy without storage offers no energy security solution and little in the way of CO2 reduction.

"There's no point in building 20 new wind farms if you have to simultaneously run back-up power stations in parallel to provide electricity in case the wind drops and the turbines don't turn.

"But if you can store the excess energy produced when conditions are good, then you have a real clean energy solution. And this is what you have with hydrogen and it's the vital link."

ITM Power work with hydrogen gas and will be demonstrating a Ford Focus that can run on hydrogen at the GreenFleet Awards conference in London on September 25th.

The company has also been shortlisted in the Industry Innovation category.

"Large scale renewable energy systems (wind and solar photovoltaic) should not be deployed until energy storage solutions have been developed," Mr Heathcote added.

"We are developing these for solar and, some time in the next few years, it will be scalable to wind. We should go with solar now and leave wind until the storage technology is ready.

"We are facing an unprecedented energy gap and we must look at new solutions that would also include fossil fuels and nuclear.

"Systems we are developing now provide the answer. We have the solutions for storing solar energy by converting it into clean hydrogen. We can do that on a scale suitable for individual homes. This would allow householders to be self-sufficient for their power needs."