Wind farm cancellation shows climate target ‘folly’
8 May 2025
SUGGESTED
Energy and Environment
Monetary Policy
Responding to the cancellation of the Hornsea 4 offshore wind project Andy Mayer, Energy Analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs said:
“The cancellation of Orsted’s Hornsea offshore wind project is a reminder of the folly of legally binding climate targets. The Government’s plan to decarbonise the power grid by 2030 denies real trade-offs between lower emissions, energy security and affordability.
“Businesses understand these trade-offs and recognise how key they are to the Government hitting its legal target. They can therefore extract a higher price for their services, which helps ensure the UK continues to have the most expensive energy in the world.
“The Government needs to think again, moderate their ambitions, replace targets with aspirations, and restore competition and price discipline to energy markets. If they can restore affordable abundance as the goal for energy policy, the UK will decarbonise faster, investing in the most efficient projects first, not the most greedy.”
“The cancellation of Orsted’s Hornsea offshore wind project is a reminder of the folly of legally binding climate targets. The Government’s plan to decarbonise the power grid by 2030 denies real trade-offs between lower emissions, energy security and affordability.
“Businesses understand these trade-offs and recognise how key they are to the Government hitting its legal target. They can therefore extract a higher price for their services, which helps ensure the UK continues to have the most expensive energy in the world.
“The Government needs to think again, moderate their ambitions, replace targets with aspirations, and restore competition and price discipline to energy markets. If they can restore affordable abundance as the goal for energy policy, the UK will decarbonise faster, investing in the most efficient projects first, not the most greedy.”
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