101 Tories revolt over wind farms
MPS tell Cameron to slash subsidies and change law to make it easier for residents to object
DAVID CAMERON has been hit by a major protest by Conservative MPS over the Government’s backing for wind farms, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
A total of 101 Tory MPS have written to the Prime Minister demanding that the £400million-a-year subsidies paid to the “inefficient” onshore wind turbine industry are “dramatically cut”.
The backbenchers, joined by some MPS from other parties, have also called on Mr Cameron to tighten up planning laws so local people have a better chance of stopping new farms being developed and protecting the countryside.
The demands will be a headache for Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary, who joined the Cabinet on Friday when Chris Huhne resigned after being charged with perverting the course of justice.
Mr Huhne, who denies claims that he asked his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, to accept speeding penalty points on his behalf, was an enthusiastic proponent of wind farms. There are currently more than 3,000 onshore wind turbines in Britain.
At least 4,500 more turbines are expected to go up as the Government’s drive to meet legally binding targets for cutting carbon emissions sparks a green energy boom.
Critics say wind farms are inefficient because the wind cannot be guaranteed to blow at times of greatest energy demand. They are also said to be unsightly, blighting the landscape.
Wind farms are also accused of forcing up energy bills while swallowing disproportionate amounts of taxpayer-funded subsidies.
The Tory MPS, including several of the party’s rising stars as well as former ministers, say it is wrong that hard-pressed consumers must pay for the expansion of onshore wind power.
In the letter sent to No 10 Downing Street last week, which has been seen by The Sunday Telegraph, the MPS say they have become “more and more concerned” about government “support for onshore wind energy production”.
“In these financially straitened times, we think it is unwise to make consumers pay, through taxpayer subsidy, for inefficient and intermittent energy production that typifies onshore wind turbines,” they say. The MPS want the savings spread between other “reliable” forms of renewable energy production.
They have also called on Mr Cameron to change the proposed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) so that it gives local people who object to proposed wind farms a better chance of victory in the planning process. The framework has finished a public consultation process and is awaiting the green light from ministers.
The letter reads: “We also are worried that the new National Planning Policy Framework, in its current form, diminishes the chances of local people defeating onshore wind farm proposals through the planning system.”
The number of Tory signatories to the letter, organised by Chris Heaton-harris, the Conservative backbencher, means that the controversy could be the biggest protest to hit Mr Cameron since the Coalition was formed. Last October, 81 Tory MPS defied him in a Commons vote on holding a referendum over Britain’s future in the European Union.
The letter’s backers claim that while other Conservatives who are ministers and parliamentary private secretaries are unable to sign because they are part of the government “payroll”, they too privately support the move against wind farms. It is understood that there is also support from the Treasury. Among the signatories are former
Conservative ministers including David Davis and Christopher Chope, as well as party grandees such as Bernard Jenkin and Nicholas Soames. They are joined by several rising stars including Matthew Hancock, Nadhim Zahawi and Steven Barclay.
Mr Hancock, who is close to the Chancellor, George Osborne, said last night: “I support renewable energy but we need to do it in a way that gives the most value for money and that does not destroy our natural environment.”
Another tory MP who signed the letter, Tracey Crouch, said: “It is tragic that we blight our countryside with hideous electricity pylons and now we intend not only to do the same with onshore wind farms but also to subsidise them.
“I’d much rather see better planning regulations and greater investment in other sources of renewable energy, which will protect the beauty of our countryside for future generations.”
Latest figures from Ofgem, the energy regulator, showed that £1.1billion in taxpayer subsidies was paid to the producers of renewable energy in 2009-10.
Of this, about £522million was for wind power, with most going to onshore wind farms. Much of this cash ended up in the hands of energy companies and investment funds which are based abroad.
The highest-profile critic of the onshore wind industry is the Duke of Edinburgh. Last year it emerged that the Duke claimed farms were a “disgrace” and they would “never work”.
Mr Huhne, by contrast, has described turbines as “elegant” and “beautiful”. His
I’d rather see investment in other sources of renewable energy
successor, Mr Davey, is thought to be bringing a more pragmatic approach to the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Mr Davey says he is committed to promoting a “green economy” but has also stated that he is “conscious” of the impact on households of high energy bills in tough economic times.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We need a low carbon infrastructure and onshore wind is a cost effective and valuable part of the diverse energy mix.
“The Government has commissioned a review of subsidy levels and we are proposing a cut for onshore wind subsidies to take into account the fact that costs are coming down.
“We are committed to giving local communities the power to shape the spaces in which they live and are getting rid of regional targets introduced by the last government.”
Mr Huhne’s departure caused a limited reshuffle. The political comeback of David Laws has been delayed to allow the former Liberal Democrat Treasury minister to get a “big government job” within months.
Coalition sources said they expected Mr Laws to be a “major feature” of a wide reshuffle being planned by Mr Cameron for late spring or early summer.
Mr Laws resigned as treasury chief secretary in May 2010 after it emerged he had used taxpayer-funded allowances to pay some £40,000 in rent to his homosexual partner. ÞA Conservative minister has fought a two-year battle against a wind farm in his own constituency.
Alistair Burt, a Foreign Office minister, has publicly opposed proposals for 16 turbines next to a village in his North East Bedfordshire constituency.
But he was left “disappointed” when a government planning inspector ruled that “regional and national targets” for renewable energy “outweighed” the impact the 360ft high turbines would have on local residents in Langford.
Mr Burt said: “I am very disappointed with the result. I think the council and local residents put a very strong case.”
Last week the minister refused to comment on the Government’s wider energy policies. But Mr Burt has fought a series of wind farm applications in his constituency and last year warned a local council that national climate change policies should have “little or no weight” in determining a local planning application.
His comments underlined the belief that there is support for measures against wind farms inside government as well as on the back benches. What is the Government’s policy on wind farms? The Coalition – like the Labour government before it – is convinced wind farms are the future.
The UK is one of the windiest places in western Europe, and that is a resource the Government wants to exploit.
Onshore and offshore turbines are encouraged in order to help meet strict carbon emissions targets.
By 2020, 40 per cent of UK electricity should come from “low carbon” sources, of which wind energy will be a major contributor.
Labour pledged to cut carbon emissions by a third between 1990 and 2020 – and the Coalition is planning to go further still with cuts of 60 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050. The Government also believes wind energy should provide a degree of energy security, immune to price rises and foreign supply constraints. What is the effect of that policy? The upshot of the policy has been a dramatic rush for wind.
The Government has offered generous incentives — in the form of consumer subsidies — to encourage energy companies to build turbines, on and offshore.
Those subsidies are added to consumer electricity bills. In other words, the money does not come out of central Government funds but is included on household bills.
The additional sums are likely to rise as more and more wind farms come on stream.
The electricity companies and landowners, who rent out their land for turbines, can earn millions of pounds from the policy. Chris Huhne (below), the Liberal Democrat who resigned last week as Energy Secretary, was particularly keen on turbines. Critics say a number of leading civil servants at the Department for Energy and Climate Change are “zealots” for wind power. How much does the policy cost? The subsidies, which come in the form of Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) payments, come on top of the money wind farm owners make from selling electricity and are proportionate to the amount of energy each turbine produces.
Typically, the subsidy is worth the same amount again as the electricity an onshore turbine produces. The more electricity a turbine generates, the greater the ROC payment.
In 2009-10, the scheme, which also offers incentives to providers of other renewable energies, paid out more than £1.1 billion. The Department for Energy and Climate Change estimates the ROC policy adds £26 to each household electricity bill, rising to £50 by 2016.
In October, the Government said subsidies to renewable sources would be cut — but wind power escaped relatively lightly.
Onshore wind farms will have their subsidies cut gradually by 10 per cent, while offshore wind farms – which cost more to build – will receive their current support until 2015, after which it will be reduced by five per cent in
successive years. How many wind farms are there and how many will there be? According to Renewableuk, the wind industry’s professional body, there are 3,538 turbines in 325 farms in Britain.
Around 3,000 are onshore with the rest offshore. At least 4,500 more turbines are expected to go up onshore as the green energy “boom” continues – with another 7,000 offshore. A Sunday Telegraph analysis of wind farms last year concluded that about twothirds are in the hands of foreign-owned companies. What complaints do people have about wind farms? Opponents claim they are ugly and obtrusive and are destroying the countryside.
By definition, wind turbines – which can be up to 450ft high – are best placed on hillsides where they are visible for miles around.
Critics also allege they are noisy, can cause nausea and dizziness and disrupt bird life.
There are obviously problems when the wind doesn’t blow. Opponents point out that backup electricity supplies in the form of coal power stations will still be needed on calm, cold days.
There are even problems when the wind blows too much. Turbines are unstable when the wind speeds are above 56 miles per hour. Energy companies have also been paid large sums to switch turbines off when they help to produce more electricity than the National Grid needs. Opponents found a royal champion last November in the Duke of Edinburgh, who branded wind farms a “disgrace”. What will planning laws say about wind farms? The MPS who have written to the Prime Minister are concerned that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will lessen the chances that local people will be able to defeat planning applications for onshore farms.
They have suggested changes to the framework that would force authorities to take the beauty of landscapes into account in making their decisions.
As it is currently worded, the NPPF, which is awaiting rubberstamping by ministers, tells authorities to plan positively for sustainable development in which, it says, renewable energy schemes play a key role.