Actors Peter Capaldi and Emma Thompson have emerged as the famous faces supporting an offshore wind campaign in the UK, launched by a coalition of companies and civil society organisations including Greenpeace, WWF and the Marine Conservation Society.
The move involves posters placed on Westminster tube station walls and ticket gates with the message that electricity from offshore wind is half the price it was just two years ago.
Launching the campaign in Westminster tube station, Peter Capaldi (Dr Who, The Thick of It, Local Hero) said: “Great Britain is the world leader in a technology which can generate huge amounts of energy without using any fuel. It’s safe, secure, zero-carbon and economical. In fact it’s halved in price in just two years. That’s 50% off. It’s a great deal. And it may just save the planet. The future of energy in the UK is offshore wind power.”
Emma Thompson , who visited an offshore wind farm to help launch the campaign, said: “It’s the most fantastic deal for the UK and it’s creating thousands of jobs in regions where unemployment has been, of late, very high. It’s the best news I’ve had in years. It’s creating jobs, it’s regenerating coastal areas, and it’s providing clean, beautiful green energy for us, our children and our grandchildren.”
Together with the campaign launch, Greenpeace released results from a YouGov poll it commissioned, which shows that offshore wind is by far the most popular large scale technology for the UK’s energy future, three times more popular than nuclear and twenty times more popular than gas. The results were consistent over age, sex, class, party allegiance, and the poll even united leavers and remainers, Greenpeace stated.
Jonathan Cole , Managing Director for Offshore Wind at ScottishPower Renewables, said: “With more than 50% cost reduction in recent years, offshore wind is becoming the lowest cost way to decarbonise our electricity sector and keep the lights on in the UK. When you also consider that offshore wind will support tens of thousands of high quality jobs in the parts of the country that need them the most, it begins to look like a great deal for everyone. The industry and government need to continue to build on this momentum and really unleash the power of offshore wind in the UK.”
Matthew Wright , Managing Director for DONG Energy UK, said: “Offshore wind presents a massive opportunity for the UK. Costs are falling rapidly, long-term and highly-skilled jobs are being created across the north of England and the UK supply chain is going from strength to strength. The industry has already come such a long way and we truly believe it can become the backbone of the UK’s energy transformation. We’re seeing the benefits of commitment to this technology by successive governments and what’s so exciting is that there’s still a lot more to come.”