THE WONDER OF WIND

George W. Bush is an oil man, through and through. Had the oil lobby decided it wanted its own man to be President of the United States of America (which, let's face it, is essentially what happened), then they couldn't have found a more sympathetic guy.

Even so, in 2008 - the last year of Bush's presidency - windfarms accounted for more than half of all net electricity-generating capacity added in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy's figures.

And, somewhat amazingly, Texas generates more windpower than any other state. That's right: the oil state, former Governor one George W. Bush, is way ahead of the rest in making use of the power of the wind.

So they might know something over there about the so-called 'inefficiency' of wind turbines.

If anything, the problem can be that the turbines are too efficient. On occasion, utilities have 'dialed down' some of their fossil-fuel power plants because the turbines are producing so much electricity.

(Let's compare this with France, which is mostly nuclear powered, and which had to purchase electricity from the UK this summer when temperatures of 30 degrees forced them to 'dial down' their nuclear power stations for safety reasons.)

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the massive growth of windpower in the States has led utilities to develop more accurate meteorological forecasts in order to predict fluctuations in wind strength. The race is also on to develop smart ways of storing the surplus electricity generated by turbines at times for use when the wind isn't blowing quite so strongly.

The system was originally devised for fossil-fuel based power generation. The switch to renewables is forcing new approaches and new systems to be developed. A mix of renewable sources (wind, wave, tide, solar, etc.), combined with greater energy efficiency and smart new systems, is what will deliver our power in the future. The so-called 'inefficiency' of windfarms is a canard, and the issues surrounding fluctuations in wind and so on are being addressed. And to suggest that wind turbines are 'expensive' is to pretend that coal and nuclear power are cheap.

It has to be said, though, that if a state like Texas can embrace windpower with such aplomb, it's a bit embarrassing that the UK is still struggling to do so. The only reason for this are the nimby protests. The rest of the world is surging ahead. We're falling behind. It's the self-interest, short-termism and downright absence of logic demonstrated by myth-mongering nimby groups that is holding us back.

Makes you proud to be British, doesn't it?