Communities Can Benefit from Wind Farms

October 19th, 2012 by Shellee Tyler

The government in the UK has come up with a nice little incentive to promote wind farms in its local communities. For communities that allow wind farms to be built in their area, residents could see a decrease in the electric bill and maybe even a new playground or other beneficial infrastructure investments. The UK’s Guardian reports:

“The Department of Energy and Climate Change has launched a consultation into how communities could benefit from having wind farms sited near them, for example by receiving discounts on bills or investment in local infrastructure. It will also look at how local businesses could become involved in the supply chain and how developers can best consult local people.

“The energy secretary, Edward Davey, said that too often host communities had seen the ‘wind farm but not the windfall’ and he wanted to ensure people benefited from them.

“‘We are sensitive to the controversy around onshore wind and we want to ensure that people benefit from having wind farms sited near to them.'”

As with everything, there is a group that opposes communities reaping any benefits from wind farms. The group Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) issued a warning to the government “against promoting a system in which communities were ‘paid off’ to secure planning permission for wind farms.”

Tom Leveridge, senior energy campaigner for CPRE, said: “This would fundamentally undermine a core principle of the planning system – that planning permission should not be bought or sold – and put the countryside at greater risk from poorly sited wind developments.”

It seems the majority favor the incentives — who wouldn’t want cheaper electric or a new playground for the kids? There will always be those who just can’t see the rewards for going with renewable energy.

Source: Guardian
Image Credit: Ennor

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Tags: benefits of wind energy, government incentives, UK, UK Clean Energy, uk government, UK Renewable Energy, UK Wind Energy, uk wind energy incentives, uk wind farms

About the Author

Shellee Tyler

Pingback: Great Posters from WWII — When Driving Was Considered Almost a War Crime | Planetsave
http://twitter.com/SheilaWren2 Sheila Wren

A lot of people in UK believe there is a place for wind in the energy mix but they also feel that being ‘green’ also means protecting the landscape, both for aesthetic reasons and for its value as a carbon sink. There is a demo in Perth tomorrow against the devastating effect of wind infrastructure on Scottish wild land, the extent of which dropped from 42% to 28% in 6 years. To them bribes like the ones described here are crass in the extreme.
- Bob_Wallace
  
  I understand the desire to maintain the aesthetic, but at what cost?
  
  Can we protect every good view at the cost of extreme climate change?
  
  Keep blasting the tops of beautiful mountains in order to not look at wind turbines?
  
  Keep killing children with coal pollution in order to not spoil our view?
Bob_Wallace

What might be missing is that communities tend to benefit from the presence of wind farms. Many US Midwest towns and counties that were struggling are now enjoying a lot of new, good jobs, additional income for their farmers and ranchers and new tax revenues.

We’re now seeing Republican governors of conservative states fighting for more support for wind because the wind industry is doing good things for their states.
http://profile.yahoo.com/CNAYRUO4X6FKB3OH4WS2Z7FD4M yahoo-CNAYRUO4X6FKB3OH4WS2Z7FD4M

Well, count me as one who “opposes communities reaping the benefits” and “can’t see the rewards”. This says it best:
http://www.masterresource.org/2012/10/proud-nimbyism-against-windpower/
Excerpts:

First, I’m not convinced a wind farm in
my backyard would do much to solve climate change; it’s just another useless
attempt to ‘do something’ and give some folks a ‘warm fuzzy’ feeling. Second, I don’t think a private company
and the government should collude to change the rules for wind energy or other questionable commercial developments under the excuse of ‘the public good’. Third, I don’t see why only a few of
us have to be forced to live in an industrial zone and risk suffering a
potential loss of property value and rights, for the (perceived) benefit of everyone else
and at no cost to them. Fourth, my right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ does not take away
anyone else’s rights.
- Bob_Wallace
  
  We, the US, got 3.5% of our electricity from wind turbines during the first half of 2012.
  
  That means we burned 3.5% less coal and natural oil.
  
  Next year we’ll get more of our electricity from wind and less from fossil fuels.
  
  Whoever wrote that piece you copied needs to consider what climate change is bringing to his/her ‘quiet enjoyment’. We keep burning fossil fuels and none of us is going to be having a good time.
- Luke
  
  By that logic, you could say that cutting down one tree makes absolutely no difference to the climate, so therefore, it must be okay to keep cutting down trees. Eventually, all the trees will be gone.
  
  It’s faulty logic. Every bit makes a difference. 1mL may not seem like much water, but 1000 1mL drops equals 1 litre of fresh clear water!