UK Conservative Party Ending Onshore Wind Subsidies

The U.K. Conservative Party has finally gone public with a policy many political commentators thought would be coming. They will end all subsidies to onshore wind power if they win the next UK  election, a move that the industry said would end deployment of the country’s cheapest form of renewable energy. The Conservatives (who with the Liberal Democrats form the current coalition Governement, will end subsidies for onshore wind through consumer bills after the election.  The election is scheduled for May 7, 2015. The Energy Minister Michael Fallon said that they will also devolve planning decisions to local authorities, making for no central power to drive forward green energy policies.

Fallon said, justifying this unwelcome addition to the Conservative party’s election manifesto:

“We now have enough bill-payer-funded onshore wind in the pipeline to meet our renewable energycommitments and there’s no requirement for any more. That’s why the next Conservative Government will end any additional bill payer subsidy for onshore wind and give local councils the decisive say on any new wind farms.”

windfarm 1205301c 300x1871 UK Conservative Party Ending Onshore Wind Subsidies

The end to subsidies  aims to end new wind farms in rural areas where many Conservatives lawmakers have constituencies where many voters are against having new turbines within their purview. Fallon’s comments were roundly criticized by environmentalists, the wind industry’s main lobby group and, most tellingly perhaps, the the Liberal Democrats, their current partners in Government.

Ed Davey is a Liberal Democrat and the Energy Secretary, effectively Fallon’s boss in Parliament. While he has sometimes given out mixed messages on renewable energy, he was forthright in his reaction to the Conservative proposals:

“Putting the brakes on onshore wind would be disastrous for business and jobs in our growing green economy. Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of green energy, so cutting it could lead to higher bills.We have already fought the Conservatives over capping onshore wind in this government –- and won.”

The latter point was a reference to when a third of Conservative lawmakers, organized by parliamentarian Chris Heaton-Harris, signed a letter in January 2012 urging Prime Minister David Cameron to cut subsidies for onshore wind. He resisted those demands then and the Liberal Democrats sighed with relief. But it was clearly premature.

Globally (according to cost of energy data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance) onshore wind costs about $85 per megawatt-hour of power produced,. That compares with $84 for gas, $82 for coal, $140 for solar and $189 for offshore wind.

The lobby group RenewableUK’s CEO, Maria McCaffrey, said:

“Cutting all support overnight amounts to a moratorium. Limiting onshore wind means having to rely on more expensive technologies to keep the lights on, increasing our dependency on costly fossil-fuel imports and exposure to price hikes.”

Perversely it would seem, Fallon said the Conservatives remain committed to cutting the country’s carbon emissions and that renewables have a “key role” to play.  But because wind farms are unpopular in rural areas, where opponents say they are a blot on the landscape, the  Conservatives think they may be vote-losers and cost them precious seats in next year’s election.

Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour Party, was a little vague on what his party would do if they win next year’s election. He said that Britain will have to “embrace” onshore wind, though developments would have to be done in a “sensitive” way.

The Conservatives also plan to hand planning decisions for large-scale onshore wind farms to local government. Presently they’re decided on at a national level under infrastructure planning rules. It also said it would amend planning policy to provide more protection to “locally valued landscape, heritage and other concerns.” Saving the sensitivities of the Conservative homeland, some might say.

Greenpeace commented that the move to curtail onshore wind will “sabotage” energy security and hamper efforts to cut carbon emissions.

Davey was very bullish and told reporters in London earlier this week that onshore wind has a “huge future” in the U.K., with 7.2 gigawatts already operating, more than 6 gigawatts with planning permission and another 6 gigawatts working its way through the planning system.

However the Conservatives claim that all of the onshore wind projects needed for the U.K. to meet its binding European Union target to derive 15% of all energy from renewables by 2020 have already received consent. This is doubted by many.

It seems the onshore wind farm lines are being drawn up ready for the election. Whether the issue of green power will be a key one in the election remains to be seen. The economy and immigration seem to be dominant issues at the moment.

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