UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in record auction

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by gruez on Thursday January 15, 2026 @03:36PM (#46638901)

>* the gas price in the article includes the government’s self-imposed carbon tax. The actual cost of gas (£55) is FAR lower than the £91.20 strike price Milibad has set for wind.

Is that unreasonable? Carbon dioxide is an externality, and it needs to be accounted for accordingly. Suppose the government is tendering contracts for milk for school lunches. One farm runs a CAFO[1] that pollutes the local river. The other has cows on a pasture that doesn't. Is it that unreasonable for the government to be like "well hang on, the CAFO farm might be cheaper the grass fed farm, but it'll cost us money to clean up all the shit they're dumping into the river, so we're going to impose a tax on the CAFO farm for their pollution"?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_animal_feeding_op...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by roamerz on Thursday January 15, 2026 @04:12PM (#46639387)

>>Is that unreasonable

It’s not unreasonable to report the facts and let the reader decide. The carbon tax is a readily available fact where in your example is subjective.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by BJones12 on Thursday January 15, 2026 @04:02PM (#46639278)

> Is that unreasonable? Carbon dioxide is an externality, and it needs to be accounted for accordingly.

Yes it is unreasonable. Spending money to reduce carbon is just a subsidy for other countries who DGAF and will emit both theirs and yours.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by Retric on Thursday January 15, 2026 @04:16PM (#46639441)

When your country emits more CO2 there’s more CO2 in the atmosphere independent of what anyone else does.

So it’s true each individual country only receives a fraction of the negative impact of their own emissions, but that fraction isn’t zero and therefore should be taxed.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by lostlogin on Thursday January 15, 2026 @04:52PM (#46639869)

Do you apply this logic for everything?

Dumping your waste, others be damned, is a hell of a way to live.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by sunflowerfly on Thursday January 15, 2026 @04:38PM (#46639696)

Yes, it is completely reasonable if you understand the concept of externalities.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:UK offshore wind prices come in 40% cheaper than gas in r... by kibwen on Thursday January 15, 2026 @05:26PM (#46640280)

People motivated exclusively by personal profit are systematically disincentivized from understanding the concept of externalities.

[ Parent | on HN ]