DG001 Commissioned and generating!
Another milestone event today – our first turbine in Hampshire is now generating!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/h1aLVMWL9eY]
HM Gov in a mess over solar FITS
The Government has been dealt a major blow today after a High Court ruling that the 50% cuts in the solar PV feed in tariff were "legally flawed".
High Court judge Mr Justice Mitting said that Government attempts to push through cuts on projects registered before the end of the consultation period on the proposals amounted to a breach of consultation rules.
Denying the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) the immediate right to appeal, the judge said the court was also amenable to a judicial review of the consultation, which could force the government to start the consultation process again, delaying the cuts and throwing the programme into further chaos.
Perhaps the Government should consider increasing the FITS budget rather than pay the bonuses of greedy bankers?
Rogershill gains full planning approval
Our proposals for a mid-size wind turbine at Rogershill Farm in Bere Regis won unanimous support from the Planning Committee at Purbeck District Council in Dorset today.
After a full and frank discussion about all aspects of the scheme councilors decided to uphold the recommendation by planning officers to grant planning permission subject to a number of standard conditions.
Naturally we are delighted at this outcome and hope that construction can begin early in the New Year.
First delivery of DG001 arrives
Another milestone event today - delivery of the tower and blades for our first turbine in Hampshire!
The two tower sections together are nearly 40m long and weigh just under 30 metric tonnes. Each of the blades is 19m long. Foundation excavations are due to start next week with the concrete pour to follow shortly after.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WbvZgkjgZI]
JPA Brayton appeal win
After months of waiting we are delighted to announce the decision of the planning inspectorate regarding our application for a single mid-size wind turbine at Brayton Park, Aspatria...
The appeal has been upheld and planning permission is thereby granted.
The inspector's report notes that Allerdale Borough Council (ABC) refused planning permission despite a recommendation to pass from their planning officers. Instead they said the single turbine would cause unacceptable visual impact, noise and shadow flicker resulting in damage to the local landscape and tourism industry.
In awarding costs, inspector David Pinner found no evidence was provided by ABC concluding that:
The Council’s decision to refuse to grant planning permission was made in the absence of any empirical evidence to substantiate their concerns. To disregard their officers’ comprehensive analysis of the relevant issues under these circumstances amounted to unreasonable behaviour, causing the applicant unnecessary expense in having to pursue the matter to appeal. I conclude that a full award of costs is justified. The application therefore succeeds.
In a recent article it was leaked that Allerdale Borough Council has spent over £80,000 of tax payers money in the last five years alone fighting wind turbine planning appeals.
Distgen now has 3 fully consented sites, a further 4 currently in planning and many more in development.
48% of onshore wind applications refused in 2010
According to DECC (the Department of Energy and Climate Change) in 2010 nearly half of all applications for onshore wind energy projects were rejected by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs). This number has increased from roughly 30% in 2009 and represents a worrying trend for the Government who are still backing the technology as part of the their attempts to overcome the dual risks of climate change and energy security.
Law firm McGrigors, who obtained the numbers using the Freedom of Information Act, found that wind energy developers are becoming increasingly frustrated with LPAs and that the number of complaints and appeals are on the increase.
Often, elected members serving on planning committees were either ignorant of the need for affordable renewable energy or else swayed by local politics towards voting against proposed projects. From experience we have witnessed such comments as
I'm fed up of seeing wind turbines not moving, and so I'm voting against the motion.
If, in 10 or so years from now energy prices have tripled - you know who should be held partly responsible. The energy system the UK gets is the one it will likely deserve.
Milestone: DistGen granted permission for first site
UPDATED (30th May 2011)
After re-submitting a revised proposal DistGen now has full planning permission for a larger Vestas v39 wind turbine. The v39 has a 39m rotor and a maximum output of 500kW making it twice as powerful as the wind turbines previously consented.
Installation is scheduled for this autumn.
ORIGINAL POST (9th December 2010)
Test Valley Borough Council today granted planning permission for our first wind turbine in Faccombe near Andover.
The new mid-size turbine will replace an existing turbine that has come to the end of its lifetime. The scheme will guarantee a valued source of diversified income for the Estate management.
Located in the heart of the North Wessex Downs AONB the existing turbine has been generating clean electricity since the early 1990's. Without any opposition the planning application was passed by TVBC allowing us to install one of three possible wind turbine models:
- ACSA A27
- WES-30
- Vergnet MPR-32
DistGen will now enter negotiations with various suppliers to seek the most competitive offer.
Germans agree to scrap nuclear by 2022
This weekend the german government has agreed to decommission all of its nuclear power plants by 2022. See BBC coverage for full story.
If the European economic powerhouse does not need nuclear the question is... Does the UK?
It's true that the UK has not invested enough into renewables and now lags behind most of Europe. Restrictive planning laws and nimbyism have stunted the rollout of onshore wind and the prohibitive cost of offshore caused some to back out.
Here's the real problem.. Everyone wants unlimited access to cheap energy. No one wants to see where it comes from. If the associated effects can be pushed onto foreign soils that's even better.
Bank of England warn on expected jump in fuel prices
In todays inflation report by Mervyn King the Bank of England warn that general inflation will likely hit 5% and that gas and electricity prices will increase by 15% and 10% respectively later this year.
Since the UK is now a net importer of oil and gas we can only assume that hiking interest rates (seemingly their only blunt tool for combating inflation) will have no effect on energy prices.
We've said it many times - renewables may look expensive compared to conventional energy - today, but in five to ten years time they will look dirt cheap.
You were warned.
Its official: global oil production has peaked
Last week something astonishing happened: Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, revealed that peak oil has already happened. “We think that the crude oil production has already peaked, in 2006.”Read more