Electricity prices? Blame Government, Not the ESB

I worked on the Arklow offshore Wind Farms as a diver from 2004 to 2009. My boss told me in 2005 that the C02 involved in building them would be gained back after about 22 years, but the parts of the Turbines themselves have life expectancy of 20 years and then need replacing, so they are impractical. Sea Water is also highly corrosive to metal. The main structure requires constant maintenance, sanding, painting and replacement of underwater anodes to stop them from corroding. There was constant worry of collapse which meant we had to dump large bolders around them and place matts to gather sand. I knew this would lead to higher energy prices. The ones at sea are more polluting than fossil fuels. It used to take us (8 man team with 2 diesel boats) a week to do what it would take 2 men a couple of hours on land. Wind Turbines are only practical on land in windy coastal areas.