Generating light on landscape impacts - Campaign to Protect Rural ...

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Return to contentsMap 27Onshore wind sitesOperational – 114Under construction – 12Consented – 96In planning – 82Level of tranquillityMost tranquilLeast tranquilCrown copyright. All rights reserved. The Countryside Agency 2006.Licence 100018881. Original source of the onshore wind farm datais from RenewableUK.KilometresO 30 60 90 120 150<strong>Generating</strong> <strong>light</strong> on landscape impacts: How to accommodate onshore wind while protecting the countryside
Return to contents87. One possible way of increasing community engagement in renewableenergy would be to move away from the notion of ‘community benefit’towards community ownership. Community benefits can includevarying degrees of financial, environmental and social benefits. 9Community ownership, however, ensures these benefits are more likelyto be felt directly by the community because they have more autonomyover how benefits are distributed and shared. CPRE has been involvedin promoting community ownership of renewable energy as part of theCommunity Energy Coalition 10 which seeks to increase the level ofcommunities owning, generating and saving energy. While it is clearthat community ownership will not resolve all concerns about windturbines – if landscape impacts are unacceptable, it does not matterwho owns the turbines or benefits from them financially – these projectstend to enjoy greater levels of public support. 11 Ownership of a project istherefore an important consideration which needs to be taken seriously.More work is needed to inform communities about how to get involvedin this approach.8. Opposition to onshore wind is intensified by the perception that thewider national renewable energy strategy is to encourage the windindustry to deploy as much capacity as possible by removing barriers,including checks within the planning system, which might stand inthe way. This undermines confidence in the planning system andcreates uncertainty for local communities, many of whom are keen tocontribute to tackling climate change but unwilling to sacrifice thebeauty of our precious valued landscapes. It also creates uncertaintyand costs for the onshore wind industry where applications are held upby opposition to what is seen as increasingly speculative development.One possible way ofincreasing communityengagement in renewableenergy would be tomove away from thenotion of ‘communitybenefit’ towardscommunity ownership9. The Government needs to have an honest and open dialogue withcommunities, providing more clarity about the total number of onshorewind turbines it expects to be built and where these might be located.This will provide more certainty to communities keen to help mitigateclimate change and should reassure them that they will not have toface an unending stream of applications for onshore wind turbines.By setting out its views as to approximately what contribution eachlocal authority needs to make to renewable energy provision, andinforming communities about community owned renewable energy,the Government can facilitate the engagement of local communitiesin the planning process and increase local acceptability of renewableenergy deployment in their area. Local authorities should also identifythose areas which are best placed to accommodate onshore windwithout unacceptable landscape impacts and those which are not.Recommendation: The Government needs to provide moreclarity about the total number of onshore wind turbines itexpects to see built and where these might be located.9Centre for Sustainable Energy, Deliveringcommunity benefits from wind energydevelopment: A Toolkit, 200910Information on the Community EnergyCoalition can be found online: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/project/discover-community-energy/overview.Last accessed: 27 March 201211RenewableUK, State of the IndustryReport. Onshore and Offshore Wind:A Progress Update, 2011<strong>Generating</strong> <strong>light</strong> on landscape impacts: How to accommodate onshore wind while protecting the countryside
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