Planning permission obstructs cheap energy wind farms - 17/06/2010
Obtaining planning permission remains one of the biggest obstacles to cheap energy wind projects, it has been suggested.
Adam Bell, national campaigns co-ordinator at RenewableUK, said it can be very difficult to obtain planning permission for a decent sized wind farm with the capacity to power a significant number of homes.
He pointed out that only around 25 per cent of applications for wind farms actually get through and if they do, it tends to be quite a lengthy process.
"It takes six to eight weeks to get planning permission for a supermarket or housing estate whereas it's 18 months to get planning permission for a new wind farm," Mr Bell explained.
He added that the issue of planning permission is obstructing the rapid development of the industry but the issue can be solved if there is the political will do so.
RWE Innogy recently announced that plans to build the £2 billion Gwynt y Mor windfarm, which is one of the largest offshore farms in the world, will begin next year.
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