LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Sharp rise in percentage of onshore windfarms being rejected 

Credit:  Adam Vaughan | 13 May 2014 | www.theguardian.com ~~

The percentage of onshore windfarms being rejected rose dramatically in the UK last year, leading the renewable energy trade body to accuse the Conservative party of “heavy-handed intervention” in the planning process.

Last summer, Eric Pickles urged planners to give greater weight to local concerns over windfarm applications, saying “current planning decisions on onshore wind are not always reflecting a locally led planning system”.

The secretary of state for communities and local government has also taken 35 windfarm planning appeals out of the hands of the planning inspectorate since last June, and has so far refused eight and approved two, with the remaining applications awaiting judgment.

Figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) on Tuesday show a surge in both approvals and rejections for windfarms in 2013, but the percentage of all windfarms rejected jumped from 25-29% over the previous four years to 41%. A record 436 windfarms were approved and 310 rejected approved in 2013, up from 105 and 38, respectively, in 2009.

The Conservative party has pledged to drop subsidies for new onshore wind turbines if elected with an overall majority in 2015, despite the Royal of Academy Engineers saying such a move would push up bills by increasing reliance on offshore wind, which is around twice as expensive.

Liberal Democrat energy secretary, Ed Davey, has said: “Putting the brakes on onshore wind would be disastrous for business and jobs in our growing green economy.”

Gemma Grimes, director of onshore renewables at the trade body for wind power developers, RenewableUK, said: “We’re very concerned about the increasingly heavy-handed intervention of the Conservative party in the democratic planning process. We’ve seen this in the overtly political statements made by the communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles last year, in which he made it clear he’d use every avenue to block onshore wind projects.

“It’s a great pity that he felt it necessary to join the Conservatives’ reckless charge against onshore wind, as it’s the cheapest form of renewable energy we have at our disposal to keep people’s bills down as well as cleaning up the way we generate electricity.”

Kris Hopkins, communities minister, said: “This government has intentionally and openly changed planning guidance relating to on-shore wind farms, giving greater protection for local heritage and local landscape. We want to get the balance right between protecting the local environment and broader need for power generation. Planning is a quasi-judicial process, and all decisions are made with due process and a fair hearing.”

A Decc spokeswoman said: “Onshore windfarm projects are considered on an individual case-by-case basis by the local authority in accordance with the national planning policy framework, and communities & local government guidance. Windfarms will only get planning permission where the impacts – including visual impact, cumulative impact and impact on heritage sites – are acceptable.”

Source:  Adam Vaughan | 13 May 2014 | www.theguardian.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon