New UK Government Cancels Onshore Wind Farms Ban
Post# of 171
The new United Kingdom government is reversing the previous regime’s ban on onshore wind farms just days after being voted in. Instituted by the outgoing Tories’ regime, the outright ban on new onshore wind farm facilities would most likely hamper the UK’s efforts to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and transition to cleaner alternatives.
The ban was put in place nearly a decade ago in 2015 when then-Prime Minister David Cameron decreed that onshore wind projects could be scuttled by just one planning objection. However, former Communities Secretary Michael Gove said last September that the ban would be removed, setting the stage for the new government’s recent decision.
Once referred to as “absurd” by the Labor Party and criticized by green-energy proponents throughout the country, the ban has now been lifted, giving the UK access to another major source of renewable energy. Furthermore, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the new regime will revise planning regulations and noted that such decisions should take place at the national, not local level.
The controversial ban on onshore wind farms came in the form of two footnotes included in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), a set of rules governing the construction of infrastructure and homes. The footnotes only applied to onshore wind infrastructure, and they essentially made it almost impossible to build wind turbines by requiring that there be no local opposition to their construction.
With the UK working to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions to help avert global climate change, these provisions hampered its green-energy-transition efforts significantly. The new Labor government’s NPPF draft has eliminated the footnotes, removing the requirement for local approval before deploying onshore wind infrastructure. This change takes effect immediately, even before the party’s official Parliamentary confirmation on July 18, 2024.
The Labor Party also noted that it will begin consultations to determine the feasibility of designation large onshore wind farms as “nationally significant” infrastructure projects. If this happens, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband could approve new onshore wind-farm projects without the approval of local councils. A policy statement from Labor officials noted that the party was set on delivering renewable energy to help the UK enhance its energy independence, cut energy costs, create job opportunities for highly skilled workers and address the growing climate-change crisis.
The statement said that as officials are committed to increasing the UK’s onshore wind-energy capacity by double by 2030, removing the ban on new onshore wind projects was a priority. Further policy revisions will place the renewable source of clean energy on equal footing with National Planning Policy Framework energy-development projects.
Elsewhere, companies such as Correlate Energy Corp. (OTCQB: CIPI) are rising to the challenge of making decentralized energy generation a reality in different regions of the United States, so that the issues associated with utilities covering large swathes can be minimized.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Correlate Energy Corp. (OTCQB: CIPI) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CIPI
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the GreenEnergyStocks website applicable to all content provided by GES, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greennrgstocks.com/Disclaimer