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Onshore and Planning

After a good windy site, the second most important ingredient for a successful wind farm is planning consent. Modern commercial wind farms are large developments which can be a big change for local communities and environments. That is why BWEA encourages sensitive siting and full consultation, as laid out in our Best Practice Guidelines. Onshore activities are co-ordinated by Chris Tomlinson incorporating planning, aviation, radar, birds and wildlife.

Guidelines for developers

Good Practice & Community Involvement in Wind Energy Developments The Renewables Advisory Board (RAB) commissioned several reports on community involvement in wind energy developments and this best practice guidance is available from the BERR site. The guidance is intended for a broad audience: local planning authorities, wind developers, local authorities officers dealing with community development and the communities themselves. Click here for more information.
TCPA and BWEA highlight the need for new local development documents to reflect Government policy on renewable energy. Planning for Wind Energy - Informing Local Development Documents
TAN8 - BWEA's response to Welsh Planning Policy Consultation and accompanying press release, see also full version of TAN8 from the Welsh Assembly
Wind Farm Development and Nature Conservation
The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms - produced by ETSU for BERR

More useful information for developers and local communities

Research from BWEA highlights need for action on planning

New research released by BWEA shows that the UK is in danger of missing the 2010 renewable energy target unless the time taken for planning decisions to be made on new wind farm proposals is speeded up. Chris Tomlinson, BWEA Head of Onshore Wind, commented:

"Some wind projects are taking two to three years to determine. This is not an issue about whether a project is approved or refused, but instead is about ensuring we have a planning system that is able to deliver timely, robust decisions which address all the issues. The current delays are not good for anyone involved in the process."

"We only need 2000 more wind turbines to meet the onshore portion of the targets, but we simply must get quicker decisions to measure progress and assess future need to meet the targets. This new research shows that the length of time in planning for wind energy projects is increasing to unacceptable levels when compared with other developments."

Click here for the press release
Click here to download the full repor) (PDF format)
Read our PPS22 briefing sheet to find out about new Government planning policy on renewable energy.