Wind power may need government help

By Nao Nakanishi

LONDON (Reuters) - The credit crunch and a weak pound will stunt Britain's offshore wind power growth and undermine efforts to cut carbon emissions without more help from government, the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) said on Wednesday.

Major offshore projects could stall and Britain will waste another opportunity to set up its own supply chain unless the government boosts support significantly.

"We need to improve the economics," said Gordon Edge, director of economics and markets at BWEA.

"In the worst case scenario ... we (could) fail to establish an offshore wind industry, we (could) fail to meet our target."

Britain plans to expand its wind capacity from around 3.5 gigawatts now to 30-35 gigawatts by 2020 to meet the European target of sourcing 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday the Apr. 22 annual budget would include measures to create thousands of "green" jobs.

BWEA calculated the falling pound against the euro has helped raise offshore costs to about 3 million pounds per megawatt in 2009 from 1.5-2 million pounds in 2007.

Meanwhile weak oil, gas, coal and carbon prices have driven down wholesale electricity prices since last summer.