Nuclear > Wind

A report from parliament gives a similar conclusion, stating that wind energy saves "little or no CO2" [2]. ii) Carbon footprint Wind Turbines, on a per megawatt basis, use 5-7 times the amount of steel and concrete that nuclear power plants do [3]. **Job Creation** i) Gross jobs created Statistics from the Nuclear Energy Institute [NEI] show that nuclear, on a per megawatt basis, creates 10x the amount of direct jobs that wind energy does [4]. ii) Impact on jobs indirectly A study by consultants Verso Economics has shown that currently, the 'green' sector, of which wind creates a plurality in Britain [5], destroys 3.7 jobs for every job it creates [6]. Whereas in the case of nuclear energy, the NEI has proved that for every 100 jobs in the United States created by nuclear energy, an additional 66 jobs are created, and another 726 jobs throughout America [4]. **Unreliability of Wind** The unreliability of wind energy was highlighted in figures from December 21st 2010, where wind turbines created only 0.04% of all energy created that day [7], despite the fact that wind made up approximately half [5] of all non-Hydroelectric renewables in Britain that year, and that category created 6% of Britain's energy that year [8]. **Deaths caused** Calculations show that wind turbines, on a per terawatt basis, cause 3.75x the amount of deaths that nuclear power plants do [9]. **Creating a sustainable economy** In late April of 2014, Germany's economics minister and Vice Chancellor to Angela Merkel, Sigmar Gabriel, said that Germany's 'transformation' into renewable energy is "on the verge of disaster" [10]. **Effect on Human health** Experts warn that wind turbines can cause psychological stress [11], and in the worst instances, could make you deaf [12]. These statistics are particularly worrying when you consider the fact that the American Nuclear Society [ANS] have estimated that it would take 2,077 wind turbines to create the same amount of energy as one nuclear power plant [13]. Problems caused by Wind Turbines' noise affecting health are often referred to as Wind Turbine Syndrome [WTS], which is confirmed by research from Canada [14]. **Wind Turbines' susceptibility to the weather** When the wind is too strong, wind turbines have to be manually turned off in case they combust. Over the past three years in Britain, wind farms have been paid 70 million pounds of Tax payers' money to turn off their turbines [15]. In July of this year, it was found that cases of wind turbines catching on fire are ten times as common as previously thought [16]. Considering the facts that a Wind Turbine has a life-span of 20 years [17], reports from UCL & the University of Edinburgh showing there being 117 fires globally per annum & 200,000 turbines worldwide [18], approximately one in every 85.4 wind turbines will combust at some point in its lifetime. 200,000/(117*20)=~85.4 [19] Number of objects/(Number of incidents per year * How many years the object lives for) **Cost-efficiency** George Taylor Ph. D. calculates that the costs of wind energy can be as much as double as what is advertised by the Energy Information Administration [EIA] due to hidden costs [20]. Similar figures come form Chris Heaton-Harris MP, leader of the Together against Wind campaign, who estimates that when hidden costs and subsidies are included, wind costs at least twice as much as nuclear, with wind costing "100/MWHr, whilst nuclear and other fossil fuels cost "50/MWHr [21]. **The effects of Fuel poverty in Britain** From 2012-3, there were 31,000 extra winter deaths in England & Wales [22], 30-50% of which can be attributed to fuel poverty. By funding costly energy sources that have a net negative impact on job growth, we are fueling these deaths. Sources [1] . http://docs.wind-watch.org... [2] . http://www.publications.parliament.uk... [3] . http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com.... [4] . http://www.nei.org... [5] . http://discoversolar.co.uk... [6] . http://www.bbc.co.uk... [7] . http://www.illwind.co.uk... [8] . http://www.economicshelp.org... [9] . http://nextbigfuture.com... [10] [The video] [11] . http://www.telegraph.co.uk... [12] . http://www.dailymail.co.uk... [13] . http://ansnuclearcafe.org... [14] . http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com... [15] . http://www.express.co.uk... [16] . http://www.telegraph.co.uk... [17] . http://ansnuclearcafe.org... [18] . http://www.dailymail.co.uk... [19] . https://www.google.co.uk...(117*20) [20] . http://www.atinstitute.org... [21] . http://www.togetheragainstwind.com... [22] . http://www.theguardian.com...