Wind Energy Planning

Court Costs Mount up for Anti-Wind Farm Campaigners

The recent trend of anti-wind farm campaigners challenging wind farm planning consents is unlikely to continue if the experiences of recent court cases are repeated.

Den Brook wind farm, near Crediton in Devon was first proposed five years ago. After being given the go- ahead by the Planning Inspectorate at appeal, challenges were mounted by resident Mr Hulme against the Government’s decision. The latest judge to consider the case – Frances Patterson QC however rejected all 10 reasons for the high court challenge, concluding that the decision to grant consent for the 9 wind turbines was ‘thorough and reasonable’.

Helen Hall, project manager for wind farm company RES told the BBC:

Wind Turbine Manufacturer Share Prices Fall

The BBC reported this week that shares in leading wind turbine manufacturer Vestas have slumped this year.

The company suffered net losses of 119m euros in the second quarter, down from a profit of 43m euros one year ago according to the BBC.

Vestas expects a substantial new wind farm contract in China to help soften the blow of postponed orders in Europe and the US.

Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa also experienced a drop in share price on Wednesday.

Minister Takes Helicopter to Visit Wind Farm

Department of Energy and Climate Change renewables minister Charles Hendrey, took a tour of an offshore wind farm in a helicopter last week. The Minister does not appear to be phased by the irony as he cruises over the 172 Megawatt Gunfleet Sands wind farm, off the east coast.

Gunfleet Sands wind farm provides for the average annual needs of 125,000 homes and unlike the Minister offsetts the production of a significant amount of carbon dioxide.

Vestas Open Wind Turbine Office in South Africa

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas opened a new office in South Africa yesterday to support its expected future expansion in the region. The company has been active in the country for a number of years and says the new office has been opened in recognition of the bright future for wind energy in the region in the longer term.

Leicester Square Wind Turbine Installed

A 13 metre wind turbine was installed in London’s Leicester Square today.

The temporary wind turbine installed by SIAC Wind Power was installed as part of the UK wind week event. The wind turbine and wind week is hoped to promote wind energy in the UK.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Hulne said:

Duputy PM’s Wife Joins Spanish Renewable Energy Giant

The Times, The Telegraph and the Daily Mail have this week all reported on Miriam Gonzalez, the wife of the UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg joining the board of renewable energy giant Acciona.

Spanish born lawyer Miriam Gonzalez has been invited to provide independent advice to the company’s board. According to cabinet sources, discussions progressed with Acciona prior to the general election.

Spanish infrastructure giant Acciona both manufactures wind turbines and constructs wind farms throughout the globe.

Lib Dem Reveals Nuclear Decommissioning Liability

The Coalition Secretary of State for Energy has spoken out this week about huge legacy nuclear decommissioning costs. According to the Guardian Chris Huhne disclosed a £4bn black hole in what he described as ‘unavoidable’ nuclear power station decommissioning and waste costs.

Huhne has brought the costs to the attention of the Cabinet and pointed out that the total budget for the energy and climate change department is limited to £3bn annually. Huhne described his department as “not so much the Departement of Energy and Climate Change, as the Department of nuclear legacy and bits of other things“….He went on to say that what we are effectively paying for here is “decades of cheap nuclear electricity for which we have suddenly got a massive postdated bill“.

Solar Power To Increase Fivefold Across the UK

With the roll out of solar panels expected to increase fivefold since the introduction of the Government’s new feed in tariff, many developers are now looking to the sun aswell as the wind to generate electricity.

Liberal Conservative Coalition – What has been Agreed on Energy and Climate Change?

It’s official, the Conservatives have formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. As a result we have a Liberal Democrat cabinet minister for energy and climate change – Chris Huhne.

In 2007 Chris Hulne said “The doubling of our electricity generation from wind in a little more than a year shows what renewables can do, and gives the lie to the need for a new generation of nuclear power.“. It is ironic therefore that he will ultimately be responsible for nuclear power station planning applications.

Google Invests In Wind Power Technology

Green solutions and technologies are needed now more than ever. Yet, many continue to be hard to find and implement on a broad scale.

Sustainability efforts from large corporations are increasing, yet our dependence on fossil fuels remains steadfast. Mining and drilling for fossil fuels can be dangerous and costly, and the planet is constantly reminding us that it’s the one paying the price. It’s here that we see plenty of opportunity for clean and renewable energies to become part of the landscape. With the right funding and investment, renewable energy technology like wind power could help turn the tide when it comes to environmental concerns.

Friends of the Earth Say Cameron Must Do More for the Environment

Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth (FOE) has today urged David Cameron to double his efforts on Environmental issues.

The FOE statement follows a call to party leaders for determined action to tackle climate change.

FOE wrote to the three biggest party leaders asking them to show that climate change is a priority in their manifestos and requesting confirmation of actions that will be taken. The letter was signed by over 8000 people. In addition FOE has asked candidate MP’s to sign a pledge to tackle climate change.

Google Denies Renewable Energy Trader Intentions

Google has denied rumours that it is set to become and energy trader at a GreenNet conference in San Francisco last week.

With hundreds of millions of customers, Google uses mammoth computer infrastructure to keep everything going. However Google’s carbon reduction intentions have been well publicised over the last year. From biofuel diesel shuttle buses to take staff to its HQ offices to ‘edible gardens’ where food for its onsite cafes is grown, Google is keen on green corporate social responsibility.

US Sanctions First Offshore Wind Farm

The first US offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound secured consent from the Obama administration on Wednesday after a 9 year battle.

The Cape Cod wind farm will consist of 130 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 420 Megawatts (MW).

The decision comes after 9 years of information requests and legislative tussels between the developer – Cape Wind Associates, wind energy supporters and vociferous opposers.

Executive Director of grassroots support group Clean Power Now said:

Europe’s Biggest Wind Farm Loses Turbine Blade

A wind turbine at Europe’s biggest wind farm lost a blade last Friday according to wind farm operator Scottish Power Renewables.

All of the 140 turbines at the Whitelee wind farm were switched off further to the incident whilst engineers investigated possible causes.

Scotland Dubbed Potential Saudi Arabia of Marine Power

Scotland’s first Minister Alex Salmond has described Scottish waters as the Saudi Arabia of marine power in response to the announcement of a new marine project.

The Scottish Government has been working with The Crown Estate who owns the sea bed off Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Orkney Islands Council and Highland Council on the offshore marine project aimed at delivering 1.2 gigawatts (GW) electricity from sites off Caithness and Orkney.

Areas of seabed with potential for marine energy have now been leased by the Crown Estate to

China Pilots Battery Storage Project

The Chinese State Grid company is to join the energy storage seekers this year according to state news agency Xinhua this week.

The State Grid is set to build a pilot integrated renewable energy power storage system this year utilising battery technology. The demonstration project is to be built in Zhangjiakou, Hebei and speculators predict the build costs will be circa 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion).

Climate Change Campaigners Call for Action Against UKIP MEP

Environmental campaigners have called for action against UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom after his comments ‘glorifying terrorism’.

The MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber appears in a YouTube video congratulating the French secret service for bombing the Greenpeace ship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ in New Zealand in 1985. Portugese Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Pereira, was killed in the attack. In the video climate change denier Mr Bloom says that he does not usually have anything good to say about the French but in the case of the Rainbow Warrier bombing “Vive La France”.

The MEP’s comments came during the UN Climate Summit last December. The YouTube film was made in Copenhagen harbour, where Mr Bloom is seen posing by the Greenpeace boat.

Storm Brews Over UK Electricity Needs

Electricity regulator ‘Ofcom’ announced this week that there is doubt over the energy market delivering sustainable electricity supplies for British needs.

Ofgem blames the global financial crisis, tough environmental targets, increasing gas import depency and the closure of ageing power stations.

In response to this discovery the Regulator recommends ‘far reaching energy market reforms’. Reform options have been put forward for further consultation and include a centralised renewable energy market and a central buyer of energy.

Ofgem’s Chief Exec Alistair Buchanan said:

Wind Energy Protesters Dirty Tricks Campaign

Anti-wind farm campaigners were caught red handed faking letters of objection to a wind farm the BBC revealed this week.

The local planning authority in central England discovered the fraudsters after writing to acknowledge the objections. According to Harborough Council, nearly 100 people responded saying they had not written the letters. Harborough Council are ‘reviewing their processes’ as a result of the revelations.

The Gartree Wind Farm comprises 3 turbines proposed on an airfield to the west of the town of Market Harborough. It was refused by local councillors last week. Community wind farm company Energy4All expressed its disappointment over the reasons for refusing the 3 wind turbines.

Energy4All’s John Malone said “We and our many supporters are obviously disappointed not to have won approval at the first attempt particularly as we felt objections were already addressed….We, together with the Council, also seem to have been the victim of a dirty tricks campaign. The Council has received many letters of objection to our proposals purporting to be from individuals, who when contacted by the Council were concerned to state that they had sent no such letter. We understand that the police are looking into this, and suggest it is symptomatic of a range of false allegations and the myths perpetrated by a small number of protesters.”

Welsh Hopes for Wind Turbine Manufacturing Jobs

Engineering firm Mabey Bridge wants to invest £38 million in a Welsh wind turbine factory according to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) this week. The investment could create 240 new green collar jobs in Chepstow on the England/ Wales border.

The Chepstow wind turbine factory would build and paint new wind turbine towers but only if the demand for wind turbines in Wales increases. Planning consent and grid infrastructure are the two key wind energy constraints currently holding the country back from meeting its green energy targets. Onshore wind delivery currently stands at only 17% of 2010 targets.

Head of the Welsh division of BWEA, Llwelwyn Rhys said: “This is exactly what the renewable energy industry and the Welsh Assembly Government have been hoping for – our own manufacturing plant that supplies the materials needed to drive the green energy revolution. This is wholly in line with the Welsh Government’s intention of creating a low carbon economy and generating green jobs”.