Wind power delivers £104 billion net benefit to UK consumers

Power generated by wind turbines is already saving energy consumers large amounts on their energy bills – challenging misconceptions about the cost of the green energy transition. According to research by the University of Central London, investment in the form of renewable energy has already generated a net financial benefit of more than £100 billion for energy consumers.

Wind farms are one of the most recognisable symbols of the shift to clean energy – and in recent years, this has also made them the central target for reactionary political figures looking to derail decarbonisation efforts. In the UK, this saw a nine-year moratorium on new onshore windfarms imposed by consecutive Conservative administrations. And while that has since been lifted by the incumbent Labour government, Reform UK – which is currently leading the polls – has informed major wind and solar developers that it would terminate their access to a key clean energy subsidy scheme should the party come to power.

At the same time, the UK is under pressure from the US regarding its renewables policy. Since returning to power at the start of the year, Donald Trump has regularly tried to undermine clean energy adoption across the Atlantic. On a recent visit to Scotland, the US president once again bemoaned the wind turbines as “the ugliest you’ve ever seen”, while incorrectly arguing it was the most expensive form of energy generation (onshore wind is now one of the cheapest forms of new electricity in the US, with its 2023 levelised cost standing at approximately $33 per megawatt-hour, lower than fossil gas on $45, and coal at $70).

Amid this, a new report from researchers at the University of Central London (UCL) has attempted to dispel the myths surrounding wind-generated energy, and illustrate the material benefits it is already bestowing upon consumers and the environment. The study, published in UCL Open Environment, found that between 2010 to 2023 wind-generated energy lowered electricity bills by £14.2 billion, and cut the cost of natural gas by £133.3 billion. 

Considering UK consumers have seen record bills for energy in that time anyway, thanks to the predatory pricing of energy companies, and supply disruption due to the war in Ukraine, it is worth considering how bad things might have got if wind energy had not been in the picture there. At the same time, the study asserted that when offset by the £43.2 billion in green subsidies consumers paid through their bills, the net result of wind energy for consumers was a reduction of £104.3 billion in UK energy bills over the 13-year period.

Lead author Colm O’Shea commented, “Far from being a financial burden, this study demonstrates how wind generation has consistently delivered substantial financial benefits to the UK. To put it into context, this net benefit of £104 billion is larger than the additional £90 billion the UK has spent on gas since 2021 as a result of rising prices related to the war in Ukraine.” 

The researchers modelled the long-term Merit Order Effect (MOE), the mechanism by which introducing low-cost renewable energy lowers wholesale electricity prices. Unlike previous analyses, which have only considered short-term MOE, this approach considers the potential cost of constructing new gas capacity, providing a fuller picture and a more realistic reflection of how the energy market would respond over time. Models that only considered short-term MOE calculated the net benefit at just £0.9 billion.   

At the same time, the paper took the time to explain why seeing wind power in purely business terms makes little sense, as the whole point is investing in something that ultimately reduces the costs of energy. This means that while over 13 years, the UK saw an expansion of wind capacity from just five terra-watt hours (TWh) to 80 TWh, which was 30% of electricity generation in the UK, this pushed gas generators out of the market and lowered electricity prices for consumers. This meant the wind generators themselves earn less per unit of energy, limiting their own profitability as they cannibalise their own market – but while corporate research does not typically value that, the UCL study shows that is a benefit for consumers and the environment.  

Co-author Professor Mark Maslin added, “The study raises serious questions about the fairness of who funds our transition to renewables and who benefits. Right now, the biggest winners are not the investors, wind generation firms or even electricity consumers who foot the bill for subsidies – it is natural gas consumers, who benefit from reduced household and industrial energy bills. We should look at wind power as a public good, like our schools and roads, where governments and citizens stand to spend a little and gain a lot. Investment in wind is not just environmentally sound, it is economically strategic and is one of the best investments the UK has made in the last decade.”