The Government has announced that subsidies for onshore wind farms will stop a year earlier than planned, on 1 April 2016. These subsidies are funded through the Renewables Obligation, which, itself, is funded by levies on household fuel bills, however, the Conservatives committed to ending the subsidies in their election manifesto.
Although the subsidies will end on 1 April 2016, there will be a transitional period for any onshore wind project which has already been granted planning permission. Even so, there are up to 3,000 wind turbines currently awaiting planning permission, and this decision could affect those plans.
At the same time, the Government is preparing to unveil new planning guidance designed to give local communities the final say over onshore wind farm applications. In addition, two new planning tests will be introduced so that councils can only approve wind farms on sites that have been designated for such development in a local or neighbourhood plan.
Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd, said: "We are driving forward our commitment to end new onshore wind subsidies and give local communities the final say over any new wind farms." She added: "Onshore wind is an important part of our energy mix and we now have enough subsidised projects in the pipeline to meet our renewable energy commitments."
The Scottish Minister for business, energy and tourism, Fergus Ewing, does not see this news in such a positive light: "The decision by the UK government to end the Renewables Obligation next year is deeply regrettable and will have a disproportionate impact on Scotland, as around 70% of onshore wind projects in the UK planning system are here."
