Wind Power News: U.K.
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Revealed: Scottish wind farms owned in tax havens
One of Scotland’s leading wind power companies has come under attack for allegedly avoiding millions of pounds of tax by being owned in the Cayman Islands. Ventient Energy, which operates 13 wind farms in Scotland and is headquartered in Edinburgh, is a subsidiary of a company registered in Luxembourg. That company is in turn owned by a firm in the Caymans, a new report has revealed. Luxembourg and the Caymans are both legally used as tax havens to help reduce . . . Complete story »
More than half of £50bn wind farm cash to go overseas
Britain is forecast to miss out on more than half of the £50 billion investment in building offshore wind farms in its waters this decade, with the majority of orders for turbines and other equipment expected to go to factories and suppliers overseas. A commitment to quadruple UK offshore wind capacity by 2030 was one of the key policy proposals outlined by Boris Johnson in his ten-point plan last week to cut emissions and create jobs. However, government figures predict . . . Complete story »
More than half of £50bn UK wind farm investment to go overseas
More than half of the estimated £50bn investment for the UK government’s offshore wind plan is expected to go to overseas companies. The Times reports that the majority of orders for turbines and other equipment is expected to go to foreign suppliers. It comes after a commitment to quadruple UK offshore wind capacity by 2030 to 40GW, as outlined in the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan published last week. However, in a statement to The Times, and confirmed to Energy Voice, . . . Complete story »
Donegal: Ministers shocked at peat slide devastation
Ministers from both sides of the border have visited the scene of a huge peat slide on the Tyrone Donegal border. The incident saw thousands of tonnes of peat washed into an internationally protected salmon spawning river. Environment minister Edwin Poots and the Republic’s Agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue met at the scene outside Castlederg. They expressed shock at the extent of the damage which is the subject of a cross-border investigation. Mr Poots also visited a trout farm in the . . . Complete story »
Public inquiry into controversial Highland wind farm closes
A public inquiry into plans for a 39-turbine wind farm in a Highland mountain range has heard it could ultimately lead to a “complex larger than the city of Dundee” being built on a “once tranquil plateau”. The proposed Glenshero development would be sited next to the recently built 66-turbine Stronelairg wind farm in the Monadhliath mountains. A public local inquiry was opened earlier this month following opposition to the plans submitted by the multi-national Simec and GFG Alliance. Highland . . . Complete story »
Meenbog: Concerns brought by locals to wind farm developer over site ‘were ignored’
Independent TD for Donegal Thomas Pringle said local communities “cannot count on government to support their interests over developers” as he spoke about the peat slippage at the Meenbog wind farm site. The deputy has called for it to be a requirement of developers to pay for independent environmental assessments as part of the planning process. Raising the matter in the Dáil on Thursday evening (November 19), deputy Pringle said the Meenbog landslide is the “culmination of a long planning . . . Complete story »
Dumfries and Galloway Council to object to Sanquhar II windfarm proposal
Dumfries and Galloway Council is to raise objections with Scottish Ministers over a controversial windfarm proposal. And that could lead to a public inquiry into Community Windpower Limited’s Sanquhar II plans for 44 turbines on the 2,728 hectares of land in Upper Nithsdale. Formal objections have already been sent to ministers from East Ayrshire Council and SEPA. An online public petition by Upper Nithsdale residents keen for Holyrood to throw out the Sanquhar Windfarm II plans has, so far, raised . . . Complete story »
Scottish Ministers block Perth firm Aviva’s ambitious renewables plan
One of Perth’s biggest employers has had plans for a £3 million wind turbine toppled by Scottish Ministers, just days after bosses unveiled a groundbreaking solar energy station in their car park. Financial services giant Aviva launched its sun-powered carport earlier this week as part of an ambitious bid to have its Fair City HQ powered almost entirely by renewable energy generated on-site. Aviva had planned to complement the new facility with an equally powerful 77-metre wind turbine. The company . . . Complete story »
Donegal: Peat landslide linked to wind farm raised in Dáil
A bog collapse which affected an internationally important salmon spawning river in County Tyrone has been raised in the Dáil. The collapse happened at the site of a wind farm under construction at Meenbog, near Ballybofey, County Donegal, last Thursday. A large quantity of peat slid down the hillside and ended up in the Mourne Beg River near Castlederg. It is a key spawning river for Atlantic salmon – a protected species. The river flows into the Foyle catchment which . . . Complete story »
Fears Donegal landslide has devastated EU protected salmon site
Anglers in Co Tyrone say they fear a huge peat bog landslide in Donegal could devastate an EU protected salmon spawning site. The slide happened at Meenbog Wind Farm near Ballybofey, Co Donegal on Friday. A number of trees were uprooted and moved as a large area of bog was swept into the Mourne Beg river, which flows into the River Derg just across the border in Tyrone. The company building the wind farm, Invis Energy, has confirmed the slippage . . . Complete story »
