Planning for Renewable Energy in Worcestershire Research Paper

APPENDIX A ● Planning for Renewable Energy in WorcestershireBeyond average wind speed, othertechnical constraints exist that wouldneed to be overcome before developingwind turbines. Access to any potential siteis crucial not only in allowing the deliveryand construction of the turbine(s), butalso to allow maintenance and repair, asand when required. The current logisticsinvolved in turbine development meanthat access must be available for largevehicles. Similarly, for turbines to beconnected to the national grid (which willalmost certainly be the case for largescalewind), adequate provision mustexist to allow connection to thedistribution network. It may not bepossible to connect particularly remoteand/or awkward locations to the gridsystem. In itself, this can be a majorconstraint; many potential sites thatsatisfy other technical and/orenvironmental criteria will be relativelyisolated, and actually erecting theturbines could be so problematic as toeffectively prevent projects going forward.Potential funding assistance forwind-power projects could be securedthrough the Regional DevelopmentAgency (RDA), which is keen to promoterenewables and low-carbon technology inthe Rural Regeneration Zone, whichincludes Bewdley and its surrounds withinits boundary. The RDA states that"…investment in wind power wouldenable local businesses to benefit fromrenewable energy, which would in turnincrease the security and diversity of theZone's energy supply and reduce carbonemissions". (Rural Regeneration ZoneAnnual Report 2005-06, Advantage WestMidlands).Environmental designations apply overlarge areas of the County. Whenconsidering sites for large wind turbines,the purposes of these designations mustbe taken into account. The wind resourcemapping referred to above has collatedtogether these designations to form whatit terms 'planning constraints', as anindicator of those areas unlikely to besuitable for wind energy developments.The mapping has excluded these areas,together with the urban areas, to arrive atan area of 'deliverable resource'.Accepting this methodology leaves almostall of north Worcestershire as unsuitablefor wind energy development. Thisapproach appears outdated, and is notnecessarily consistent with that of PPS22,which states that the various levels ofdesignation can possibly accommodaterenewables, subject to certain criteria. Forinternationally and nationally-designatedsites, the onus is on the developer toprove that the potential development willnot compromise the objectives of thedesignation. It is the responsibility of theLPA to set out criteria-based policiesthrough which acceptability in thesedesignations can be decided. Localdesignations alone are not consideredsufficient reason for refusing renewableenergy development, and criteria-basedpolicies should again be employed.In addition to landscape impacts, thereare several other factors that will be ofimportance in assessing the viability ofwind turbines in any given area. Amongthese are noise; shadow flicker; vibration;effects on radar and TV interference; andwildlife. A DTI study 33 investigated thenoise associated with wind turbines, andconcluded that "Noise from the wind farmshould be limited to 5dB(A) abovebackground for both day- and night-time… remembering that the background levelof each period may be different". Furtherdetails of these issues - which may betermed amenity considerations - can befound in the Sustainable DevelopmentCommission's 2005 publication 'WindPower in the UK.34Technical Research Paper33Paragraph 21, The Assessment and Rating of Noisefrom Wind Farms, report to DTI (September 1996)