UK - Wind power being hit by ’long and damaging’ planning delays

Scotland’s green energy industry forum slammed the nation’s dithering planning process, blaming it for ’damaging delays’ in wind power development vital to the Executive’s renewables targets and the fight against climate change. Scottish Renewables chief executive Maf Smith was speaking as his organisation’s Wind Energy 2006 briefing document arrived in MSPs’ in-trays shortly before Tony Blair’s Energy Review is expected to highlight the vital part renewables will play in the UK’s future.

He said: "The wind industry in Scotland is suffering from a deadly double whammy that is causing long and damaging delays in the planning approval process. ’There is a serious lack of resources in the planning system, both locally at Council level and nationally at Scottish Executive level that is holding back the initial stages of the process. Then at the statutory consultation stage there are further delays as many consultees do not have the staff to quickly prepare their reply. We are now in the situation where the snail’s pace of planning decisions is seriously holding back vital wind energy development. This is ironic when you consider that a large wind farm can be built in nine-months. ’Even those wind farms receiving permission must still wait up to a year before they receive all the necessary supplementary permits and legal authorisations – known as Section 75 agreements – before they can actually start construction work on site."

Marcus Rand, chief executive of the British Wind Energy Association, said: "Projects like the newly commissioned Black Law wind farm, capable of providing enough electricity to power a town the size of Paisley and praised by the RSPB for improving the land, show the way ahead for Scotland and the rest of the UK. ’With the best wind resource in Europe and an industry ready to deliver clean renewable electricity, Scotland has the opportunity to become the powerhouse of renewable energy in the UK. This will act as a catalyst for other renewable technologies, attracting jobs and massive investment to the region. However, this potential can only be realised if the logjam of projects being assessed by the Scottish Executive - 80% of all wind energy capacity currently in the planning process, equivalent to the annual electricity needs of 2.5 million homes – or Scotland’s domestic energy needs - are released by prompt decision making throughout 2006."

Wind Energy 2006 goes into detail about the planning problems facing the wind industry, stating that while the political ambition of setting long-term renewable energy targets has been matched by the wind sector’s willingness to take significant risk in trying to develop wind farms rapidly, the same ambition ’has not been matched by planners in some parts of Scotland and most worryingly in the Scottish Executive itself’. It states: ’At the heart of the delay in wind development is the length of time it takes to get decisions out of the Scottish planning system. At present it takes around a year for a planning authority to reach a decision, though the recommended time for a planning decision is sixteen weeks. ’The Scottish Executive, which determines wind projects over 50 megawatts (MW) in size, is taking more than two years to reach a decision. With almost five gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind capacity submitted to the Scottish Executive, 34 projects are experiencing or expect to experience significant delay. There are many environmental and economic benefits that will be missed or postponed through these delays.

’The industry is not demanding approval on every project, but wants to see decisions made within a reasonable timescale. Speedier determinations provide a continuity of planning decisions that gives a clear steer on the longer-term development of the Scottish wind market.’ Mr Smith added: ’More realistic decision-times will also give greater clarity to communities that often face a long wait before they understand which of the proposed sites will be going ahead. We know that the majority of people support the development of sites in their local area; what they do not like though is the uncertainty caused by the planning system’s dithering. ’It is also worth remembering that extra delays increase the cost of developing wind energy, meaning that the end cost to the consumer will be higher. While larger companies can manage delays, this is often the death-knell for projects put forward by small independent developers or community groups.’ Scientists warn that there may only be 20 years left to act on climate change. With this in mind, the Scottish wind industry has almost doubled the installed wind farm capacity during 2005. Wind energy capacity is likely to double again in 2006, crossing the landmark 1GW line, and Scottish Renewables has set an industry target of installing at least 2.5GW of wind power in Scotland by 2010. By hitting this target a strong wind sector will be established and significant progress will be made towards the Scottish Executive’s 2020 target of 40% of electricity from renewable sources.

However Maf Smith insisted it needed support. He said: ’The planning system can enable this or it can slow it to a dead halt. If it is to release the potential of this fantastic opportunity by approving well designed wind farms in the right locations the Scottish Executive needs to promote quicker decisions, and consistency of decision making across Scotland. The Executive must also hold its nerve, recognise the clear support throughout Scotland for wind energy development, and tackle a vocal minority who oppose renewables head on.’

Notes:
· Scottish Renewables is Scotland’s Forum for the Renewable Energy Industry, supporting the development and provision of a sustainable energy future for Scotland.
· The full report can be found at http://www.scottishrenewables.com/data/reports/SRF%20Briefing%20-%20Wind%20Energy%202006.pdf