Wind farm planning rejections hit record high

A record number of applications for wind farm projects were rejected by planning authorities last year, according to new figures from the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) seen by BusinessGreen.

The BWEA's annual review of the industry – which is due to be published later this week – shows that the average UK approval rate has fallen from 82 per cent in 2004 to 62 per cent in 2007.

It will also confirm that the average amount of time taken to reach a decision on wind farm projects is also at a record high of 24 months, with one project in Scotland having to waiting 63 months for a decision.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of further tarnishing relations with planning authorities one industry source said that wind farm operators were increasingly on a collision course with local administrators. "Many of the remoter sites have been taken so some of the newer proposals are closer to buildings, meaning they are running into more obstacles," he explained.

The Ministry of Defence has also become increasingly active in its blocking of wind farm applications, claiming there is growing evidence that wind turbines can disrupt radar signals.

The number of planning applications being rejected is having a serious detrimental effect on investor confidence, according to the BWEA report.

The study shows that applications to build 1,000MW of wind capacity were made in 2007 – less than half the size of proposals in 2006 and almost a third of what was applied for in the previous two years.

Sources claim wind farm developers' confidence is being dented after routinely spending millions of pounds on planning applications, only to see them rejected.

"If you look at the Lewis project [for the UK's largest onshore wind farm] it has invested £5m, has still not been able to generate one watt of energy, and there is still no decision on whether it can proceed," said one industry observer. "If you’re a developer and that project gets rejected you'll think twice about investing in such projects again."

The findings are likely to crank up pressure on the government to force local authorities to accept more wind farm planning applications. Earlier this year, the BWEA warned that without major reforms to streamline planning processes the government would fail to meet EU imposed targets to ensure 15 per cent of UK energy comes from renewable energy sources by 2020.