WORLD WIND ENERGY NET

BWEA, the UK’s leading renewable energy body is taking steps to agree national standards for the wind industry’s carbon offset figures. This follows a ruling last week from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which overturned figures that had been previously agreed between the industry and the Authority.

BWEA Chief Executive Maria McCaffery said “The industry has been pro-actively working with the ASA since the Summer to agree a robust and verifiable set of figures, as well as an agreed methodology so that the new figures can be regularly updated in future.”

The ASA found that BWEA member company npower had breached its rules by using a figure of 860 g/kWh for CO2 displacement for its proposed new Batsworthy Cross wind farm. This figure had previously been agreed between the ASA and BWEA, and previous ASA adjudications had accepted the figure. In overturning the figure the ASA found that the company had acted in good faith in producing its publicity material.