Conservatives In A Windy Muddle

The Conservative Party's renewable energy policy proposals would cripple the UK wind industry overnight. According to the British Wind Energy Association's (BWEA) director of programme strategy Chris Tomlinson, wind energy is required to help the UK meet energy-saving targets. The Conservatives' proposals are claimed to imply an end of support for onshore wind farms, with the report quoted as criticising the wind industry for making 25 per cent profits on its schemes.

Under the Conservative proposals, the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), introduced by the Planning Act to accelerate permission for large infrastructure projects, would be abolished. ENA chief executive David Smith said: "ENA is concerned about the Conservative proposal to abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission. This could place in peril the ability of network companies to deliver essential energy infrastructure in good time.

Rupert Read writes about the con in Conservative.

A significant number of Tory MPs and MEPs are in fact climate-change deniers. David Heathcoat-Amory MP and Mr Lilley MP had a go at the Stern review and the IPCC report; "The evidence in the Stern review relied heavily on the intergovernmental panel on climate change. I have read the bulk of both reports and I am aware of being in the presence of something similar to a secular religion with its articles of faith and its heretics.

Tory Grandee Lord Lawson of Blaby appeared in a sceptic documentary 'The Great Global Warming Swindle'.

A third of Tory MPs who responded to a survey on the environment questioned the existence of climate change and its link to human activity. Two-thirds said tackling climate change should not be a priority for local councils. 55 Conservative MPs replied, 10 said no, while eight that they didn't know. Some 80 of the 91 Labour MPs who responded said yes, together with 15 of the 17 Liberal Democrats.

Tony Juniper, ex head of Friends of the Earth, said the survey results were "disturbing". He said: "That a fifth of MPs say they either don't know or reject the science of climate change is a serious cause for alarm and suggests that many of them are seriously out of touch, because the science is very clear. For them to be making policy without a proper grasp of the science is a major oversight. David Cameron's emphasis on the environment has been one of the most important forces in green politics recently, but he has had some difficulty convincing some of his party that it is the right thing to do. This poll shows he has not won that battle yet."

yes2wind quote Chris Tomlinson "Wind energy is the only renewable source capable of meeting the looming energy gap by 2020 – ending support for onshore wind would make schemes uneconomic and effectively choke off investment overnight."

The Conservative Party in the country often opposes mid-sized wind power developments. Building a national policy on renewable energy has to bear in mind that local Conservative groups will usually fight against renewable energy developments in their areas.

The Conservative policy in Scotland want a for a moratorium on the building of new windfarms. Despite the potential benefit of local community owned wind farm developments; local communities should have the opportunity to generate their own environmentally friendly electricity from renewable sources; the Danish wind energy industry has an annual turnover of nearly £2 billion, employing 16,000 with 95% of the turnover coming from export sales, the Conservative policy is both bad for the environment and bad for business.

A single Conservative Party councillor (Adrian Gunson) was able to raise a strategic objection to a major wind farm off the North Norfolk coast that would provide the energy capacity of about one fifth of a nuclear power station. Councillor Andrew Boswell challenged this decision widely in the Press at the time - this has led to greater debate and awareness at County Hall when looking at wind applications.

Conservative MPs are "perfectly at liberty" to oppose windfarms in their constituencies, despite the party's leadership demanding a greater use of renewable energy. Shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth faced accusations in the Commons that his party could not be taken seriously on the environment when its MPs head up campaigns against turbines in their areas. Mr Ainsworth insisted: "Conservative members are perfectly at liberty to take a view about proposals in their own constituencies. It doesn't actually affect Conservative party policy."

If they are not careful the best symbol for their party would be a disconnected wind turbine to show that what is on offer is just empty spin. Mr Ainsworth insisted the problem of how local MPs respond to opposition to a wind farm more often affects the Tories and the Liberal Democrats. "Wind turbines tend to be put up in rural areas with hills and tend to be on the whole more represented by our parties than by the Labour party. It's absolutely essential that the wind energy industry is sensitive to landscape and does not put proposals in places where there is going to be a very clear impact on landscape or biodiversity or any other environmental issue. One of the arguments we have had with the way support for renewable (energy) is currently structured is that it has tended to put money in large onshore wind farms which are naturally controversial in the areas they are proposed. That is not helpful in the long-run to securing renewable energy in this country."

So forget about generating energy in the future, spoiling the view of a NIMBY means no renewables will be built by the Tories. It is often the case that the views they hold so precious have lines of pylons marching across the countryside, these they ignore. Yet wind turbines are far more attractive than pylons.

The trouble with Labour, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives; is that they respond to a political cycle of a less than 5 years. For them a sustainable policy is one that responds before the next election. So they have no interest in coping with more long term problems that effect future generations. Greens think about future generations with regard to every policy, and its one reason we don't do better in elections; if future generations could vote, we would win easily. So how to persuade voters now to think about the future? Comments would be welcome on this and every subject.