Wind Energy Planning

Coalition Renewable Energy Problems Start to Emerge

Tory Planning Policies and Lib Dem Renewable Policies just don’t add up according to former energy and climate change minister Ed Miliband.

Speaking during a House of Commons debate, Mr Miliband criticised the coalition government saying that their renewables policy doesn’t yet add up because they have Lib Dem targets with Conservative planning policy. He also said their nuclear policy doesn’t add up because they have three positions.

New Planning and Low Carbon Energy Bills Announced in Queen’s Speech

The Queen announced in her parliamentary opening speech today a number of new bills, including a ‘Decentrilisation and Localism Bill’ and an ‘Energy and Green Economy Bill’.

The Energy and Green Economy Bill is expected to encourage improved energy efficiency and the introduction of smart meters throughout the country. The new bill will promote low carbon energy production in England and Wales with the possibility of some areas of the bill applying to Scotland too.

Legislation will be put in place to facilitate green home loans, however uncertainties surround the future of renewable energy incentives and control over power station emissions.

Green Party Set to Gather Disaffected Lib Dems

The Green Party has asked Lib Dem voters not happy with Nick Clegg joining forces with the Tories to talk to the Greens instead.

Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie said “Lib Dem members and supporters did not work hard over the last weeks and months to see their party become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tories“. He said the Liberal Conservative coalition decision “will be the death-knell for the Lib Dems here in Scotland“.

What Could the UK Election Results Mean for future Energy Policy?

In the face of the first UK hung parliament since 1974, the media has been dominated by talks of what happens next.

A potential Conservative/ Lib Dem coalition has to date been the most discussed. We know however that the Conservatives and the Lib Dems have major policy differences on electoral reform, the economy and immigration.

Overall the Lib Dems appear to have more in common with Labour – from the timing of public spending cuts to electoral reform and creating a green economy. With the major Lib-Lab differences limited to ID cards and immigration, the match looks much cleaner. Labour however did poorly in the election and even with Gordon Brown offering to resign it looks like a deal with the Conservatives is the more realistic option on the table.

So -if the Conservatives and the Lib Dems do manage somehow to overcome their differences – what would be the outcome for UK energy policy?

Labour & Lib Dems Put Spotlight on Conservative Climate Sceptics

Labour and Liberal Democrat energy representatives Ed Miliband and Simon Hughes joined forces to put Tory climate change sceptics in the spotlight this week.

The ‘green hustings’ event organised by the Guardian featured a debate on climate change and energy between the 3 biggest political parties. The debate can be heard online via the Guardian website.

Over 50% of Conservative MPs don’t agree with Renewable Energy Targets

Despite their campaigning as the ‘new green’ party at the beginnning of the year, the Conservatives have come out the least green in a new survey released this week. The RenewableUK survey carried out by ComRes shows that over half this year’s prospective Conservative MPs disagree with current renewable energy targets.

With election campaigning in full flow, all the main UK political parties are desperate to show off their green credentials. Voters however want to know whether politicians are serious about tackling climate change or merely pushing for a bit of rooftop solar panel or wind turbine tokenism. The ComRes survey of 101 prospective MPs gives us an idea as to which really is the greenest party of them all.

All of the main partys’ manifestos say that they support the current UK 15% renewable energy target by 2020 however this is not reflected by all prospective MPs seeking a seat. The new survey reveals that 54% prospective Conservative MPs disagree with our current renewable energy targets with only 22% strongly supporting them.

UK Political Party Manifestos Commit to Renewable Energy

The key English political parties have now launched their manifestos in advance of the elections on May 6th.

All parties commit to a substantial proportion of the UK’s energy coming from renewable sources in the near future; however the details of measures to facilitate this move are not yet clear.

Labour’s ‘Future Fair for All‘ manifesto says the party would create 400,000 green collar jobs

Conservative Energy Policy Goes Live

The Conservatives want to put in place an offshore wind energy grid and “take the poison out of onshore wind” according to their energy policy released this week.

Shadow Prime Minister David Cameron says the Conservative policy paper “Rebuilding Security” sets out the party’s would-be programme for a reform of British energy policy. They say their policy would facilitate action to combat the looming collapse in energy supply from 2013-2017 and 12 action points are outlined.

To encourage renewable energy, the Conservatives say:

Middle England Groups and Wind Energy Companies Disagree over Spatial Planning

Wind energy companies don’t like spatial planning. They have been warning UK government decision makers against the strategic allocation of renewable energy sites for years. The key reasons for this stance are a) the risk of completely unsuitable areas being allocated for a particular renewable energy technology and b) a whole host of potentially suitable areas being sterilised uneccessarily because they have not been allocated as appropriate for a particular renewable energy technology. Renewable energy technology requirements change fast according to technological and commercial parameters.

Sterilising effects have been experienced in practice where local planning authorities have commissioned studies of their own areas and then gone on to identify green ‘go’ and red ‘no go’ areas. The sterilisation of these areas will in turn have a further impact on already failing moves towards meeting renewable energy targets.

Some national organisations are however pushing for strategic identification of renewable energy sites such as those for wind farms. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) produced a joint statement with the National Trust last year promoting the spatial planning approach. They are still peddling this approach with RSPB representatives telling the Energy and Climate Change Committee earlier this month that the government’s new national policy statements (NPS) should include spatial guidelines for renewable energy development.

Renewable Energy Grid Infrastructure Reality Sinks In

In the US, the Californian desert and the Mid-West plains are ideal locations for solar and wind energy plants. In the UK the Scottish highlands and Welsh mountains have the highest winds in the UK. These locations have similar characteristics – great resources for renewable energy generation, but limited grid infrastructure and not many people.

Hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles of new expensive, high voltage grid infrastructure is needed in these key locations to transport green energy to areas of high demand – the big cities. This grid infrastructure is both expensive and geographically extensive.

Scotland Embraces Renewable Energy but Fights Against Nuclear Energy Imposition

The Scots do not hold back when it comes to renewable energy. Scotland’s Chief Scientific adviser, Anne Glover, speaking on BBC Politics confirmed this week that Scotland has the scientific and engineering skills to develop 40% of Europe’s renewable energy potential.

MSP Rob Gibson a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Transport and Climate Change Committee – welcomed Prof. Glover’s comments and said “Every penny wasted on new nuclear technology would be a penny less for the development of clean, green energy.

How Long Does it Take to Build a Wind Farm?

Anthony Fyson – freelance writer for the UK Royal Town Planning Institute magazine “Planning” this week criticises The British Wind Energy Association for talking about the “falling approval rates” for wind energy projects.

Fyson says “wind power, properly harnessed, is vital to our future and most planners accept the fact. But they are unlikely to be persuaded to act differently on behalf of the frequently divided communities that they serve by the oft-repeated message that they and their system are not good enough.”

English Politicians Reject 50 MW Wind Farm Whilst Scots Surge Ahead

English Councillors this week voted to object to a controversial 19 turbine, 50MW wind farm near Marshland St James, in the Norfolk Fens. Meanwhile over the border in the Highlands of Scotland, local officials approved the 25 turbine, 50MW Camster Wind Farm between Lybster and Watten.

These decisions do not come as a surprise. Approval rates for wind energy projects have been higher in Scotland than in England and Wales for more than a few years.

Free Renewable Energy Advice for UK Planners

A free advice service is to be launched in the UK in February offering planning officers support on renewable energy.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) has been commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Communities and Local Government to pilot the initiative further to the government’s Renewable Energy Strategy consultation in June. A new network, will offer free support of up to one-day’s worth of an expert’s time to be able to deal with complex queries that require more in-depth research, clarification and response.

The Crucial Role of the Planning System in Delivering Renewable Energy Projects

As we enter into 2009 we face a life threatening problem – that of climate change. Dealing with environmental and energy issues is essential if we are to save lives in the future. In order to deliver the changes needed we must have an effective planning system.

In the early 1900’s poor people in UK cities were building houses on top of each other creating overcrowded slums with no infrastructure.

Renewable Energy – The Goldilocks Problem

I enjoyed an analogy made in a recent Renewable Energy World article where Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council representative Tam Hunt talks about “The Goldilocks Problem” faced in the struggle to provide enough renewable energy.

How Wind Energy Developers & Locally Elected Officials Behave

Timlynn Babitsky of Wind Power Handbook recently wrote a interesting post about the conduct of wind developers in New York. Timlynn talks about wind farm developers bribing officials and explains that a new code of conduct has recently been introduced to stop questionable deals being struck between developers and officials and developers and developers behind closed doors.

The UK experienced corruption at the local level in the 1980’s when big out of town supermarket developers were caught bribing locally elected councillors who made decisions on planning consents. Subsequently an investigation took place involving the Nolan Committee and a set of recommendations published. The Nolan Committee’s First Report on Standards in Public Life recommended a code of conduct be introduced for local government officers and locally elected councillors. This code has a big impact on the way council officials behave, even to the point that it is sometimes difficult to even talk to these decision makers about a wind energy project.

UK renewable energy jobs held back by politicians

Government and local councillors should start consenting wind energy projects if a renewable energy manufacturing industry is to be self sustaining in the UK.

A report by Bain & Company for the British Wind Energy Association published today predicts that there will be 36,000 green collar jobs created by 2020.

Obama and McCain on Renewable Energy

Obama and McCain – do they really want to do something about alternative energy or is it just green spin?

Obama and McCain both claim to support alternative energy and a national carbon cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions. However neither has confirmed if they would put forward a plan to the Congress if elected.

Wind Energy Consents and Aviation Conditions

Last year a planning application for 15 wind turbines at Tormywheel, Fauldhouse was refused by West Lothian Council. The decision was appealed by the developers and granted consent by the Scottish Executive.