November 1, 2012
England

County council backs minister’s opposition to wind farms

by Daniel Ionescu | The Lincolnite | November 1, 2012 | thelincolnite.co.uk

A government minister called for an end to the spread of wind farms across the country, something that Lincolnshire County Council already pledged to do.

Senior government energy minister John Hayes, a long-standing opponent of onshore wind farms, was handed the junior ministerial role in September’s reshuffle.

He told the Daily Mail and The Telegraph this week that “We can no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities. I can’t single-handedly build a new Jerusalem but I can protect our green and pleasant land.”

The South Holland and The Deepings MP said there are enough wind farms in the planning pipeline to meet government environmental targets, and no more should be built.

There are 75 wind turbines in the county, with dozens more in the pipeline, and Lincolnshire County Council called this summer for a halt to the spread of wind turbines across the county.

Following minister John Hayes comments, Councillor Eddy Poll, Executive Member for Environment Services, said: “This is an issue the county council has been concerned about for some time.

“We’re not calling for a blanket ban on wind farms. We have a duty to protect the environment and are in favour of renewable energy. However, there’s been an invasion of wind farms across Lincolnshire in recent years, and we can’t ignore the impact this is having.

“We need to make sure we balance our need for green energy against inappropriate developments that ruin the environment we’re trying to protect. Wind energy is unreliable and costly. For that reason, we want to raise the bar even higher for anyone wanting to construct a wind farm in the county.

“To that end, we’ll be carrying out a public consultation towards the end of the year with a view to making our position an official council policy.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/11/01/county-council-backs-ministers-opposition-to-wind-farms/