The Government yesterday announced their intention to end new public subsidies for onshore turbines with the closure of the Renewables Obligation across Great Britain to new onshore wind generating stations as of 1st April 2016.
'Farmers will no longer have the opportunity to install on their own farms'
"It is disappointing that landowners across the country are having the opportunity to generate their own electricity, to diversify their businesses and to give them some financial security for the future, taken away from them," said Victoria Lancaster, Renewable and Energy Advisor at H&H Land and Property.
Individual farm scale turbines that generate between 50 and 500kW’s have been a great success story in the contribution that they have made towards the national electricity generation. They have also made a huge impact in the reduction of carbon, and for all of these reasons it is a shame that the Government seem to have an agenda that does not take these things into account.
Farmers will no longer have the opportunity to install on their own farms. The timing has been brought forward a year earlier than April 2017, date given by the Coalition, which means that although it will still be possible to put a turbine project in place if it is going into planning this year, as long as it is not appealed. However, if an appeal takes place it is unlikely to be successful, as appeals can take up to a year to reach conclusion.”
Given that the timescales for wind turbine projects can take up to 18 months to get through planning and appeal process, this new time frame heralds the end of farm scale wind turbines in the UK.
Other options
Victoria Lancaster concludes: “There is still a range of renewable technologies out there for farmers to consider including Anaerobic Digestion, Solar and hydro. Steps are being taken to develop other technology such as tidal; however these large scale technologies are usually out with a farmer or landowners reach.”
Investor confidence
The early closure of onshore wind subsidies will destroy investor confidence in renewable infrastructure projects and cost the UK economy millions, Savills Energy warned.
Savills Energy said it was deeply concerned that a move to close RO will cost the industry millions, and is urging the government to allow developers to transition from RO to CfD as previously agreed to avoid irreversible industry damage.
A move towards early closure will also add hundreds of millions onto consumer bills, as the move will result in the substitution of more expensive technologies for onshore wind projects. It will work to destroy investor confidence in any infrastructure projects.
“The government’s pending move to terminate onshore wind subsidies is baffling to both industry and consumers,” said Tim Waterfield of Savills Energy. “Indeed, the government’s own surveys show that 65% of the British public support onshore wind.
“We urge the government to reconsider its untimely decision and to avoid acting in haste on an issue that may have an irreversible impact on investor confidence. Consultation with key bodies, such as RenewableUK, British Wind and Scottish Renewables, is absolutely key to determine the best outcome for the industry.”
