Is Wind Energy Becoming Too Expensive?

General Electric (GE) plans to make major job cuts in its U.S. wind operations and will consider its other markets too as windfarms are proving to be a major expense in the wake of Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Continued supply chain disruption and the high cost of wind turbines are deterring companies from investing in wind energy, as they look for cheaper alternatives.

It’s a question that has been being asked for years - are wind and solar power more expensive and less reliable? The two renewable energy sources have been repeatedly criticised for their intermittent power provision. Meanwhile, as the prices of steel and other materials continue to rise, solar and wind farms are proving to be more expensive to construct than previously hoped.

The prices of solar and wind power had been decreasing as technological innovations were made, thanks to huge amounts of investment worldwide in research and development. But in the wake of a pandemic that has wreaked havo...