A top conservation organisation is calling for a significant expansion of onshore wind farms in the UK. The call comes from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which commissioned a report which concluded that an increase in wind farm development was possible without undue harm to wildlife. This report, from the Institute for European Environmental Policy, argued that the planning system should take a strategic approach. This would involve identifying both those areas where turbines should be given priority and those parts of the country where wind farms are most likely to be in conflict with wildlife.
A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the Government was committed to a national increase in the use of renewable energy sources. “To do that, we need a mixture of all forms of renewable energy, including both onshore and offshore wind farms,” he said. “The Planning Act has been passed and that sets out a more streamlined planning process, but it is one which still allows the local community to have their say.”
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-213213 http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/en/1115316665066.html
