Conservatives question wind farm merits

Monday, 26 July 2004 12:00 AM

The Conservative Party has called for a fundamental rethink on land-based wind farms, warning that they are in danger of turning people against renewable energy.

They accuse the Government of having "bet everything on land based wind farms. In doing so, they are alienating local people and excluding other technologies from the market."

The Department of Trade and Industry believes that the UK has the "largest potential wind energy resource in Europe". The sector is to undergo a big expansion with 22 new wind farms due in 2004.

However, there have been a series of protests near proposed wind farm sites with some branding them a blot on the landscape. The Government though claims that between 70 and 80 per cent of the population are in favour of wind farms, with only 14 per cent objecting to them being built within a three mile radius of their homes.

Speaking today, the Shadow Environment Secretary, Tim Yeo, said: "Across Britain, a voice of protest is growing louder. From Wales to my own constituency in Suffolk, local communities are angry at the way that wind farms are being foisted on them by this Labour Government.

"Ministers have bet everything on land based wind farms in the belief that they are the quickest and the cheapest way to meet the Government's renewable energy target. They are pressing ahead regardless of the opportunities offered by other renewable energy sources; regardless of the cost to the British landscape; and regardless of the impact their policy will have on local people's lives."

Mr Yeo said that he is well aware of the importance of renewable energy, but said: "Ministers are going about it in the wrong way.

"Instead of making people feel enthusiastic about renewable energy, they are turning thousands against it. Labour ministers are not trying to persuade - they are seeking to dictate. Their pursuit of a short term target is blinding them to the bigger, long term opportunity."

He argued that the Government should be looking at all types of renewable energy, including wave and tide power and the development of green energy from forestry and agriculture.

Friends of the Earth though said that wind farms must continue to be built. Its spokesperson, Bryony Worthington, said: "Wind farms are essential if we are going to tackle the very real threat of climate change - the biggest challenge this planet faces.

"They can and must be located sensitively to reduce their environmental impacts, which is why the new planning guidelines are needed. But the Government must also invest more in this country's potential for wave and tidal power."

The Government is committed to a target of ten per cent of the UK's electricity being produced from renewable sources by 2010. Currently, with only one per cent of the world's population, the UK produces three per cent of the globe's greenhouse emissions.

Tags: