CPRW welcomes the government's commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of climate change and harmful emissions through encouraging the production of renewable energy and appreciates the reasons for the UK government's target to increase the output of all forms of renewable electricity from approximately 2% to 10% by 2010, with a further general aim of doubling that level by 2025.

CPRW is, however, concerned that the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation and its successor mechanisms produce a divisive conflict between the two aims of reducing harmful emissions and protecting a high quality rural landscape. Land based wind energy has become the lead renewable technology during the 1990's while almost half the 770 turbines constructed in the UK have been concentrated in Wales, predominantly within areas recognised for their special landscape qualities, and generators currently proposed (at up to 100m) are now more than twice as high as those first built.

CPRW accepts that local planning authorities are required to have regard to the government's UK target while attempting to protect the character of rural Wales, but is alarmed that in many areas the planning system has been unable to prevent large groups of conspicuous skyline turbines which with the many undetermined proposals pose a pervasive cumulative threat to heartland landscapes, particularly in mid and north Wales.

CPRW believes that the intermittent energy generated by existing and projected schemes is insignificant in relation to their adverse visual impact, and that - on balance - the benefits do not justify the damage to the Welsh landscape. CPRW therefore regards the escalation of development proposals, appeals, and pressure to relax planning controls, as a major threat to the integrity, diversity, scale. space and potential for enjoyment of the Welsh landscape and countryside.

CPRW concludes that concentration of wind power on upland and coastal sites represents an unjustified imbalance between energy and countryside policies. This is made even less acceptable by the government’s policy indications that emphasis should progressively transfer to off-shore deployment. CPRW has therefore adopted the following policies on land based wind energy installations:

CPRW will oppose large scale or visually intrusive proposals in upland and coastal locations, in rural locations where residential and community amenity would be adversely affected, and in other areas that are valued locally, nationally or internationally for qualities which would be jeopardised.

CPRW will not oppose proposals which are small scale in their physical context and which would not have unacceptable impacts as defined in Policy ON 1.

CPRW will campaign to ensure that all proposals are accompanied by a full statutory Environmental Impact Assessment which takes account of the complete life cycle of the development and includes a guarantee of effectivedecommissioning.

June2000

Return to top of page