There have been critics of REF's agenda in particular Juliet Davenport, chief executive of green energy provider Good Energy and Dale Vince founder of Ecotricity, who both accuse the organisation of using a deliberately "misleading" name, Vince says "They are not a Foundation for Renewable Energy, as their name says and as any reasonable person would conclude from their name - they actually exist to undermine Renewable Energy - in that respect their name is a deceit,".

Other Critics such as Maria McCaffery, chief executive of RenewableUK, a trade body which represents more than 600 wind and marine energy firms, says the Renewable Energy Foundation's true purpose is diametrically opposed to the interests of the wind energy industry. "It is an anti-wind lobbying organisation," she told BusinessGreen. "I'd like to know where the renewable energy part of their remit is. They don't foster or promote or develop, they just try to undermine the case for wind energy all the time."^[6]

You might expect an organisation known as the Renewable Energy Foundation to be consistently in favour of renewable energy projects. But according to its many critics, nothing could be further from the truth for an organisation that stands accused of misleading the public by consistently campaigning against wind farms.

At all times, you have peaking plants on standby, ready to be brought on line or, if they are producing, to be shut off. A lot of the time, they are paid to be idle and nobody complains about it. That's how it is meant to work.

Sigh.

Wind power