§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on information available to his Department on the merits of three-bladed steel wind turbine generators as a source of energy.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe Department's research and development programme is intended to examine the merits of wind energy, in particular its economic and environmental acceptability. On the basis of information available from our studies to-date we believe that wind energy has the potential to make a substantial contribution to United Kingdom energy supplies and that the three-blade, horizontal axis configuration is one of the more promising options.
Steel is used extensively in the manufacture of wind turbines, for both the rotating components and the support structure. It can be used for making the rotor blades, but lighter composite materials are preferred by most manufacturers.