SPONSORS OF LEGAL EAGLES
UK ON THE CUSP OF A NEW ENERGY ERA
WITH THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO GENERATING 13GW WITH ONSHORE WIND TURBINES BY 2020, CHANGES ARE AFOOT.
for change. Despite the increase in wind power output, planning hurdles associated with applications are blocking potential for further wind turbine utilisation.
The country’s bold targets could be at risk of failure. Fresh thinking must be applied before the momentum slows and Britain’s renewable energy hopes become a missed opportunity.
THE NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK (NPPF) There are two main pitfalls to successful renewable energy deployment in the UK: planning and financing.
the National planning policy Framework (NppF) has been introduced to ensure planning efficiency.
Its main function is
AMBITIOUS TARGETS These wind power targets are certainly ambitious but foundations are being laid now to make the transition into renewable energy smoother. Recent statistics published by the Department of Energy and Climate change indicate that the amount of clean electricity generated for UK homes, businesses and factories has increased significantly. Figures reveal that wind energy output improved by a third in 2012, when compared to 2011.
EMBRACING RENEWABLE ENERGY these figures indicate that the country is embracing renewable energy and is ready
to oversee and support local planning authorities’ plan-making and decision-taking functions.
TIME IS MONEY While the framework has aided planning officials, eager applicants are not feeling the benefits. Currently medium sized turbines can take up to 24 months to pass the planning stage. Despite this improvement on previous timescales, it still falls short of what is needed. As the old adage goes, time is money.
CAPITALISING ON POTENTIAL there is a real dynamism in the SME sector
UK - CHALLENGE TO WIND FARM DEVELOPMENT IN HIGH COURT QUASHED
RES UK & Ireland recently succeeded in defending a statutory challenge to planning permission that had been granted for its proposed wind farm development, known as “Jack’s Lane”, in North-West Norfolk.
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge, which also involved a nearby wind farm development proposed by E.oN, was brought by two action groups who resisted both planning applications at the Inquiry stage. The
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groups sought to quash the decision to grant planning permission for both developments on cultural heritage grounds.
EXPEDITED HEARING
An expedited hearing of the claim was secured in order to minimise the delay and uncertainty on the project. Despite the Secretary of State withdrawing from the proceedings, and agreeing to the permission being quashed a week before trial, both RES and E.oN continued
RES project Manager Helen Wilson said: “We are very pleased with the decision, which supports the Planning Inspector’s view at the inquiry last year. We are absolutely confident that the wind farm will be a positive asset to people living around it.”
to capitalise on the potential of renewable energy. SMEs could be losing out on vital income as projects can languish in the planning system for years until approval is awarded. These decisions often come too late for small scale businesses keen to benefit from the revenue generated by wind turbines in farms or factories. Alternative forms of energy are being readily used to power businesses, but more support is needed to assist and develop SME ambitions.
FUNDING THE FUTURE Tackling planning backlogs requires collaboration. For example, last year in Scotland the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Heads of planning Scotland came together to create a fund to deal with wind turbine application bottlenecks. The £300,000 assigned was welcomed and kick- started numerous projects across Scotland.
Strategies like these are exemplary and similar incentives can be introduced throughout the whole country. Onshore turbine applications are at an all time high, but these developments do not come to fruition as quickly as hoped. If funding was readily available to form specialised teams of wind turbines planners, the backlog of applications would be significantly reduced.
‘TAX PER PROJECT’ SCHEME A ‘tax per project’ scheme could support the highly skilled and specified flying squad of planning professionals, who are focused solely on speeding up the renewables planning application process. This has come to fruition on a small scale, but there needs to be widespread commitment and support from local authorities, right through to government level.
to defend the claim at the hearing in December.
HIGH COURT DECISION
The decision of the High Court to dismiss the claim and uphold the planning permission was welcomed by RES as being the right result obtained in difficult circumstances, and vindicated the decision to continue with its defence despite the Secretary of State’s withdrawal.
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