Onshore wind farms revived
U-turn means they WILL get public cash
MINISTERS have performed a dramatic U-turn on the future of onshore wind farms and announced they will free up public cash to help Britain cut greenhouse gases.
Onshore wind turbines were denied any public funds in 2016 – after then Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to get rid of the ‘unsightly structures’.
The measure was criticised as it made it much harder for turbines, the cheapest form of clean energy, to compete with other types of power.
But now the Government is under pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050 – so more turbines will be needed. As a result, the Government has said onshore wind and solar can take part in lowcarbon power auctions – where energy contracts are awarded after competitive bids.
Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said ending the UK’s contribution to the climate crisis ‘means making the most of every technology available, and that includes backing more onshore wind and solar projects’. This will be achieved ‘in a way that works for everyone, listening to local communities and giving them an effective voice in decisions that affect them’.
The U-turn comes just days after the Government indicated it would not appeal against a court ruling blocking a third runway at Heathrow
Airport. Friends of the Earth Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon said: ‘This looks like great news for renewables in Scotland. There are lots of large and small wind farm schemes that have been stalled for years because the UK Government cut support for onshore wind.’
Killing off funding for wind farms led to a slump in new ones being built. In 2019, 23 were created, with all but one having secured subsidy from before the scheme was closed. This compares to 2014, when 400 onshore wind projects came on stream.
In another turnaround, the Government
announced a moratorium in fracking in 2019 – after Mr Cameron had urged the UK ‘to get behind fracking’. The Government will also announce that solar power projects can apply for subsidies.
Air pollution cuts an average 2.9 years off the lives of people worldwide, a study found. The report by University Medical Centre Mainz in Germany, in the Cardiovascular Research journal, estimated that toxic air causes 8.8million premature deaths around the world each year. It took an even higher toll than tobacco, said to shorten lives by 2.2 years.
‘Making most of every technology’