December 9, 2013
Scotland

Wind farm subsidy cut ‘won’t make a difference’

By Janice Gillie | Berwickshire News | 9 December 2013 | www.berwickshirenews.co.uk

A reduction in onshore wind farm subsidies looks set to make very little difference to the number of turbines in the Berwickshire landscape.

The UK Government announced last week that the subsidy for onshore wind farms was being reduced and subsidies for offshore turbines increasing,

But despite local MSP John Lamont’s hope that it will take the pressure off the local landscape, wind farm developers and anti-wind farm protestors don’t believe that the change will make much impact.

TCI Renewable is planning a wind farm at Rumbletonrig, Greenlaw, and after the government’s announcement Paul Beale, project manager, said: “Reduced subsidies for onshore windfarms indicate that the costs of the technologies are coming down.

“This will not have any impact on our proposed wind farm development at Rumbletonrig and the communities of Greenlaw and Hume and Gordon and Westruther will still benefit from a community benefit fund amounting to £112,500 per annum.”

Wind farm protestor, Mark Rowley, from Longformacus, said: “Despite the political hype and the howls of anguish from the wind industry, the cut is so minimal it will make little difference.

“Windfarm developers will be guaranteed £95mw, down from £100. No-one imagines that the invasion of Berwickshire by German, French, Norwegian, Spanish and English energy multinationals will stop because of a 5% reduction in subsidy two years hence?

“In the Borders, with fuel poverty recognised as affecting at least 37% of households, the onslaught of wind development is a visible reminder that it is the consumer paying the price of wind farm folly.

“It is a start, but it is woefully little and will discourage too few speculative developers who clearly recognise that onshore wind is the greatest government-sponsored gravy train of our time.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/12/09/wind-farm-subsidy-cut-wont-make-a-difference/