[mr_eel]

First point; Most wind turbines haven't been in place long enough to actually say they're only lasting for half as long. So… yeah I smell a bit of horse pucky there.

That said, the basic thrust of the paper seems right to me — although I need to give it a closer reading. Essentially, wind power is a poor choice for the UK. Little open land, not a heck of a lot of wind, a political environment which results in communities getting bought off with govt money.

So, context is important. If you want to see successful wind power generation, look at Germany, or a better example; South Australia.