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Helen Blenkharn, Climate Change Policy Officer I regularly get asked ‘do wind turbines save carbon emissions?’ A recent report by the Committee on Climate Change looks at the UK’s carbon footprint and the lifecycle emissions from different types of electricity supply and so answers...

Helen Blenkharn, Climate Change Policy Officer Last year Rolling Stone magazine published an eye-opening article called ‘Global warming’s terrifying new math’ which said three numbers should be enough to convince you that we’re in serious trouble: Scientists agree that average...

Helen Blenkharn, Climate Change Policy Officer We all need an electricity supply, but can we make policies and investments work better for local communities, and perhaps for wildlife and climate change at the same time? If you want to influence decisions about our energy infrastructure, two current...

Post by Helen Blenkharn, Climate Change Policy Officer ‘What if we train our staff and they leave?’ ‘Yes, but what if we don’t train our staff and they stay?’ I laughed at this phrase, part of a role play at NationalGrid’s first ever Sustainability Summit last...

Guest post by Kelsie Pettit, Energy and Climate Policy Officer, RSPB Scotland The above words, spoken by a colleague from Birdlife International at the European launch of the Good Practice Wind project (GP Wind), are a reflection on the global community in which we live. Our insatiable media and...

Guest post by Amy Crossley, RSPB Conservation Officer in the East of England Ministers announced the decision last week to consent two offshore wind farms off the Norfolk coast that will deliver over one gigawatt of renewable energy; enough to provide clean power to around 730,000 homes each year...

So, I took last week to explain the RSPB’s position on wind energy, its importance in our efforts to tackle climate change, potential impact on birds and wildlife as well as addressing the issue of cost and efficiency. And now I have an announcement. We are, today, unveiling plans to build a...

We have all seen stationary wind turbines on a calm day, and even on some very windy days. It’s a fact that wind farms only produce about a quarter to a third of the electricity that they would if wind speeds were ideal at all times and no maintenance was ever necessary. However this does not mean...

So, we’ve made the case as to why wind power needs to play an important role in the future along with other sources of renewable energy, but can we afford it? Many people think wind power in particular costs too much. The Daily Telegraph, for example, reported that green policies will add £300...

Scotland is a windy country. Maps of wind speed show that it’s the windiest place in Europe so it makes sense to use some of this wind energy to meet our electricity needs. Because of this fantastic energy resource, Scotland is ahead of other parts of the UK when it comes to developing renewable...

A popular question that we often get asked and I’m afraid the answer isn’t a simple one. The truth is, the UK probably could reach its climate targets without wind power but it would come at a higher financial and environmental cost. It would also take a lot longer. In 2008, the UK Government...

As one of Europe’s leading wildlife charities, the RSPB’s work is all about ensuring that birds and other wildlife can thrive – forever. Climate change poses the single biggest threat to birds and other wildlife. Current science suggests that one third of all land-based species could...

Our starting point when thinking about wind power is climate change. The fact is that climate change is happening, it’s already having an impact on wildlife and if it continues unabated it will devastate wildlife and undo all our good work to save species and special places. This means we have...

Wind power is in the news more and more, and the issue has never been so emotive. The RSPB considers that there is an important role for wind power to play on the land and at sea because it offers a low carbon source of electricity. We believe, however, that windfarms must be sited and designed so that...