February 11, 2011
England

New deal on wind farms rejected

Northampton Chronicle & Echo, www.northamptonchron.co.uk 11 February 2011

Communities fighting plans to put wind farms in their areas have said Government plans to offer “appropriate incentives” to communities to take on the technology would make no difference.

The energy minister Charles Hendry yesterday said people should be given a greater say about where wind farms were sited and receive benefits from them. He added: “We will be putting in place significant real benefits so communities can see how they really benefit from hosting a facility on behalf of the national interest rather than something they see imposed on them at present.”

It was implied that money from the wind farms would be used to improve services like schools or leisure centres or to cut council tax.

Derryn Rolfe, chairman of the Stop Kelmarsh Wind farm action group, which has been fighting E.ONs plans to build wind turbines next to the Battle of Naseby site, which was recently refused planning permission by Daventry District council, said: “No one in this community is protesting about this for personal gain, we just don’t want it next to a historic site. We just want to protect this historic building and rural landscape and nothing would change that.”

Brian Skittrall, technical advisor for the Northamptonshire Campaign to Protest Rural England (CPRE) said: “There is normally only a small number of people who are affected by a wind farm and those people might get no compensation and may not be supported by their village.

“It is unclear where the money will go but it sounds like it will go to the local authority.”

During a Parliamentary debate on wind farms yesterday South Northamptonshire MP Andrea Leadsom said: “Wind farms should not be seen as the main solution to achieving sources of renewable energy. I have tabled an amendment to the Localism Bill which will bring wind farms of up to 100 MW capacity under the new neighbourhood planning process.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/02/11/new-deal-on-wind-farms-rejected/