Starmer Govt Wants To Limit Communities From Stopping Wind And Solar Projects

Ed Miliband is to overrule local residents in a planning shake-up that will pave the way for thousands more wind turbines across Britain.

As part of his renewables blitz, the Energy Secretary is seeking to classify wind turbines and solar farms as “nationally significant infrastructure projects”, meaning they will be treated with the same level of importance as airports and power plants.

The shake-up will effectively strip residents, communities and councils of their powers to block, amend or delay green energy projects, which Mr Miliband wants to build across swathes of countryside.

The Government predicts that the change will unlock £40bn of investment each year until 2030.

The plans, announced on Friday, are part of Mr Miliband’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which signals how Labour will attempt to meet its target of decarbonising Britain’s electricity grid by 2030.

While claiming it will reduce Britain’s reliance on gas and save households money in the future, the proposal makes no mention of Mr Miliband’s controversial pre-election pledge to cut domestic energy bills by £300 a year.

As part of his planning reforms, any projects that exceed 100 megawatts (MW) in capacity – roughly equivalent to 15-20 wind turbines – will be deemed a “nationally significant infrastructure project” (NSIP).

This means that approval for wind projects will soon rest with unelected planning officers, who will have powers to overrule any local opposition.

The same rules will apply to solar farm developments.

The changes are set to form part of Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill to be debated next year.

However, the measures are deemed so controversial that party leaders want to hold it back until after the county council elections in May.

If approved, the bill would effectively mean an end to local control over large wind and solar farms.

Mr Miliband’s action plan argues that change is essential because the current planning system, which allows time for residents to object, simply takes too long.

Unveiling the proposals, he said: “A new era of clean electricity for our country offers a positive vision of Britain’s future with energy security, lower bills, good jobs and climate action.

“This can only happen with big, bold change and that is why the Government is embarking on the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations.”

The plan points out that tighter deadlines on planning are essential if the UK is to achieve clean power by 2030.

However, the decision to restrict the public’s opportunity to oppose schemes in the High Court is likely to prove particularly controversial.

Campaigners are also likely to criticise looming targets that will require each UK region to build a certain amount of green energy developments by 2030.

Should Mr Miliband succeed in passing the Bill, he will press ahead with transforming swathes of British countryside by doubling onshore wind capacity from 15 gigawatts (GW) to nearly 30GW, accounting for an estimated 3,000 turbines.

At the moment there are 9,200 onshore wind turbines in the UK, mostly in Scotland and Wales.

The bulk are under 200ft tall, although developers are currently building new versions up to 800ft high – with England the prime target since Labour came to power.

Meanwhile, Mr Miliband also wants to more than triple solar capacity from 15GW to nearly 50GW by 2030, potentially covering an estimated 500 sq miles of farmland with panels.

Solar farms work best in sunny areas, meaning applications are already focused on England’s southern and eastern counties.

However, many applications are already generating furious opposition.

Last month saw Cornish farmers blockade the local council’s offices in protest against a vast solar development.

Additionally, the plan will also see offshore wind’s capacity jump from 15GW to nearly 50GW over the next six years.

The UK already has about 2,800 offshore wind turbines so reaching this target will mean installing an extra 3,500 by by 2030.

Renewables companies are largely expected to bankroll the clean energy plan, investing an expected £40bn a year by 2030.

However, it is likely that much of this cost will eventually be recouped from customers through their bills.

It came amid reports that Mr Miliband is preparing to visit China early in the new year, where he is likely to discuss net zero trade opportunities given the country dominates global supply chains for solar power.

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said the Government had broken its key election promise to cut consumer bills by £300 and would instead push up prices.

She said: “Ed Miliband spent the election promising to cut energy bills by £300 by 2030, then took the same amount away from pensioners in poverty. Now his promise to cut bills by £300 is nowhere to be seen.

“Instead his rush to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030 will push up electricity prices and cause more hardship for Britons, but he’s pushing on regardless. We need cheap, reliable energy and he must put living standards first.”

Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised over the reliability of renewables, particularly during periods of low wind and sun.

It emerged on Thursday that Britain’s electricity grid was burning record amounts of gas after a “dunkelflaute” weather event knocked out many of the country’s wind and solar farms.