Written question asked by Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) on Monday, 18 May 2009.

Energy: Wind Generation

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact the proposed cut in production announced by Vestas will have on its targets for wind generation.

Answer: The Government do not have a specific target for the level of energy to be sourced from wind generation, but are committed to meeting their share of the EU renewables directive target of 15 per cent of total UK energy being sourced from renewables by 2020. Following a consultation over summer 2008, we will publish a new UK renewable energy strategy later this spring. This will set out a package of measures to meet the UK's share of the 2020 target. We understand Vestas' announcement primarily concerns production facilities that supplied blades for export to the US onshore wind turbine market. There are a number of suppliers active in the UK onshore wind market including Vestas, and commercial decisions on the supply of turbines for renewable generation are of course a matter for the companies concerned.

Secondary information