The Tories are planning to halt onshore wind farm production, despite most people supporting it The barriers to onshore wind, imposed after the general election, are about to be set in stone, as they turn from guidance to formal status. Instead of blocking communities from building Britain’s cheapest source of new electricity, the government should be working to empower people to take a stake in the exciting energy transition of which wind turbines are just the most visible part. From a practical perspective, the ban on onshore wind is making the urgent challenge of decarbonisation more difficult and expensive. Symbolically, it’s even worse: the ban on onshore wind reads as a ban on action on climate change. And that, increasingly, is not a good look for our government.
Independent 29th April 2018 read more »
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has criticised the Scottish government for approving a wind farm in a wildlife-rich area of Sutherland. SSE, the energy company, wants to build a 39-turbine development on the site of a non-native conifer tree plantation in the heart of the county’s peatlands, Flow Country, seven miles south of Strathy village. SSE has already built a 33-turbine site at Strathy North. Local communities support the development because of the promised financial benefits but conservationists oppose it. A public inquiry was held in June 2015.
Times 30th April 2018 read more »