Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
David Cameron must quash rumours the Conservatives back a moratorium on onshore wind or customers will suffer, renewables industry bodies have warned.
Renewable UK urged the prime minister to stamp out “playground politics” it said was damaging investor confidence for all forms of energy. Scottish Renewables emphasised that any moves to halt onshore wind development would raise bills and cost jobs.
They were responding to widely reported claims from a “senior party source” that Cameron wants to rid the countryside of onshore windfarms. The source suggested a cap on new developments, tighter planning restrictions or subsidy cuts could form part of the next Conservative manifesto.
Maf Smith, deputy chief executive of Renewable UK, said: “Investors will be shaking their heads in disbelief as the Tory party wilfully damages confidence in one of Britain’s flagship new industries.”
The unattributed comments are seen as a bid to win back potential UKIP voters ahead of local and European elections next month.
However, Renewable UK pointed out two thirds of the population consistently support wind power. Indeed, in a survey carried out for the Mail on Sunday in October, 58 per cent of UKIP voters and 61 per cent of Conservative voters agreed with the statement “I would be happy to have a windfarm built in my local area”.
Smith said: “The fact that these rumours are being allowed to continue about such a popular technology means that every energy and infrastructure investor in the country will be wondering: ‘who’s next?’ The message going out is that if a vocal minority complain about popular, much-needed infrastructure the prime minister is unwilling to defend it. That’s bad for investor confidence across the board.”
Onshore wind is the cheapest large-scale source of renewable power, the industry bodies pointed out.
Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “Without onshore wind, the UK will either miss its 2020 climate change targets or have to find renewable power from somewhere else – which can only mean higher costs.”
Some 19,000 people work in the British onshore wind industry. That will double in the next decade “unless the government blows it,” said Smith. “Irresponsible, unattributed rumours like this play with all of their jobs.”
Please login or Register to leave a comment.