The UK government has published its response to its consultation “Developing local partnerships for onshore wind in England”.
London received 76 responses to this consultation from a variety of stakeholders, including developers, operators, suppliers, legal and consultancy (36%), local government (21%) and public and commercial representation, like charities (21%).
The majority of respondents supported its proposals and government intends to take these forward.
Feedback also indicated more could be done to provide clearer signals to communities and industry on the expectations of a community benefits process.
RenewableUK’s executive director of policy Ana Musat said: “The onshore wind industry wants to continue to engage with local communities in a way which is flexible and transparent, to build trust and ensure communities see tangible benefits and continue to be involved in decision making.
“Flexibility is vital – it should be up to communities to decide what form the benefit will take, working closely with developers on a voluntary approach, and depending on the size of the wind farm.
“It makes sense to set a standard level for community benefit funds across the UK of £5000 per megawatt of capacity.
“Communities can expect consistency across the country. It also provides certainty for investors and developers about the expectations placed on them.
“It’s also important to highlight the fact that communities in England will not be able to benefit from these funds unless there is significant planning reform. The government’s changes to planning policy in September don’t really remove the current de-facto ban on onshore wind.
“Communities in England can’t benefit from a wind farm proposal that’s never put to them because the planning system is too difficult for developers to navigate.
“We need to end the unique restrictions on onshore wind and treat it like any other energy infrastructure.”
Minister for Nuclear and Renewables Andrew Bowie added: “We support onshore wind where it has clear local community support and where those communities can directly benefit from the cheap, clean electricity that is produced.
“Today, we’re setting out our plans to modernise the existing Community Benefits Protocol and make it official Government guidance later this year.
“This will set out clearly the total value of benefits communities will receive when agreeing to host an onshore wind farm.
“To increase transparency and awareness of community benefits schemes, we’re also planning to set up a public register so people can more easily find out what benefits are on offer.
“These changes will make it easier for communities in England that support onshore wind to decide which benefits work best for their area, and ensure they are properly rewarded for hosting the turbines that power homes and businesses with clean electricity.”