The UK's new Conservative government will change the law to give local planning authorities consenting powers even for 50-MW-plus onshore wind farms, the Queen's Speech confirmed Wednesday, with measures to end subsidies to be announced soon.
The changes will mean that local authorities in England and Wales will be the primary decision makers for all onshore wind applications, no matter the size. The reforms will be supported by changes to the national planning policy framework to give effect to the Conservatives' pre-election pledge that local communities should have the final say on wind farms, the Queen's Speech said.
Earlier this month, the new UK energy secretary, Amber Rudd, told UK media that local residents will be given the power to veto onshore wind farms.
The Conservative Party also pledged in its manifesto to end new subsidy for onshore wind farms. The speech said that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) "will be announcing measures to deliver this soon." The government will have to consult with the devolved administrations -- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- on changes to onshore wind subsidy regimes. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon last week called for reassurance from the new UK government that it will not change subsidy arrangements without agreement from Scottish Ministers.
Wind and marine energy trade body RenewableUK expressed concerns about the planned measures. "Singling out one of the most popular and lowest cost forms of energy technology for different treatment in the planning system sends a worrying message to investors across the energy sector," said RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery. Onshore wind will be treated differently from other large energy infrastructure projects, the decisions for which are taken at ministerial level.
In an analysis of the speech, Scottish legal firm Gilson Gray LLP said it expected "an increase in planning risk for very large scale wind projects as individual councils pursue their own policies on large scale wind outside an overall national framework."
The Queen's Speech is given at the start of each parliamentary session and sets out the government's policies for the new session. Though delivered by the Queen, its content is drawn up by the government.
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Wind turbines in UK. Author: Stephen Jones. License: Creative Commons. Attribution 2.0 Generic
