Another Windfarm Inquiry While Nuclear Waits for Fast Track Planning

A public inquiry into windfarm proposal in Denbighshire opens tomorrow (1) which sees environmentalists supporting the scheme and taking on various conservation groups for their disparaging stance against wind energy.

Friends of the Earth Cymru are fighting back against conservationists claims that wind energy is unreliable, ineffective and apparently always in the wrong place. One widely posted objectors leaflet even suggests that wind energy could not replace nuclear energy. FOE Cymru says that the proposed WindJen scheme near Denbigh is a good one which could supply all the electrical needs of about 10,000 people. More in tandem with energy efficiency improvements.

The environmentalists are increasingly concerned that nearly every windfarm that gets planning approval by a Local Authority gets called in by the Assembly. This results in a lengthy and expensive inquiry procedure for even small windfarm proposals while the Government is preparing a fast track planning system for major developments which could include a new nuclear power programme.

Neil Crumpton, energy spokesperson for FOE Cymru said:

"We support this windfarm proposal. It would supply all the annual electricity needs of about 10,000 people, and it could well become a visitor attraction in itself. Wind farms generate safe, clean, cheap, regionally produced electricity and rural income out of thin air, yet opposition groups heap every kind of criticism on them, often wildly inaccurate.

We are concerned that if the UK wind energy programme is stalled by such criticism, then a nuclear power programme could be back on the agenda next year following the Governments current Energy Review. If the Government get their fast track planning proposals through for major schemes, then nuclear power may well return relatively unchallenged while wind energy suffers death by a hundred cuts at inquiries."

FOE Cymru says that the opposition groups give the impression that wind energy is not popular and damages the landscape. Yet, independent public opinion polls consistently show a majority of people in favour of wind energy. The Taff Ely survey found that more people said that the windfarm makes the scenery more interesting (29%) compared to those who found it spoilt the scenery (19%), most did not mind.

Considering that wind energy can make a major contribution to tackling dangerous global warming, FOE Cymru say that new schemes which contribute to the regional BWEA wind energy targets for Wales (2) should not be derailed due to minority groups making continuing disparaging and or inaccurate criticisms.

Notes

1) Tir Mostyn and Foel Goch Windfarm Public Inquiry starts Tueday at 10am in Denbigh.

2) Onshore Wind Contribution

There are about 363 turbines in Wales, including the recent Parc Cynog scheme, mostly in the 330kW to 600kW size, with a total installed capacity (IC) of 153 MW. These wind turbines supply about 389 GWhrs/year (0.389 TWhrs/year) or about 2.4% of current Welsh electricity consumption (annual consumption assumed at about 16TWhrs/year).

The BWEA (British Wind Energy Association) regional target for Wales (Planning for Wind Energy published in 2000) is for an additional 290 MW of installed capacity above the capacity installed at tht time, about 151 MW IC. The BWEA based their calculations on DTi statements. The BWEA 2010 target is therefore for about 440 MW IC. This additional capacity could well comprise any combination of turbine ratings from say 439 turbines all of 660 kW rating to 193 turbines all of 1.5 MW rating. Meeting this target would increase the number of turbines deployed in Wales from 363 turbines to somewhere between 550 and 800 turbines depending on the mix of turbine sizes.

This would represent a percentage increase of between about 52% and 120% over current turbine numbers. The average annual output for a target total of 440 MW IC would be about 1.16 TWhrs/year which would represent 7.2% of annual Welsh consumption. With energy efficiency improvements this figure would correspondingly rise.