Will the coalition government deliver power to the people?

After barely a week in power, Britain’s Conservative-Lib Dem coalition Government is already looking closely at renewable energy. Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart recently stated he is confident the new government will aim to decentralise the planning process for wind farms, thereby allowing local residents more say in the building of wind farms in future.

While Mr Stuart speaks to encourage those opposed to wind turbine developments in East Riding, he may not realise this is good news for efforts to increase our energy security and combat climate change. The majority of the public fall into the WIMBY (Wind in My Back Yard) category, with independent polls suggesting over 80% of people in this country support the development of wind energy and have no strong objections to onshore wind farms in their local area.

The Conservative plans Mr Stuart refers to involve what they call ‘open-source’ planning; giving every resident in a particular area the chance to contribute to the local development plan for their local authority. While he believes this will empower local people to object to wind farms, it will also give them the freedom to ask for them.

This means four-fifths of the population will have the opportunity to demand renewable energy development in their local area. It will give WIMBYs the chance to request wind farms in their back yard – potentially opening up whole new areas for construction. It could yet be a great step forward for saving the planet – assuming that enough people are willing to help.

Right now, only 25% of applications for wind farms are approved at the local level, and are often rejected by council planning bodies. This has been caused by those opposed to wind farm applications being by far the most vocal. When (and if, the coalition agreement has yet to be fully fleshed out) these plans are implemented, Embrace will provide help and support for people who want to encourage renewables in their area.

Until then, we still need to show local councils and local politicians that there’s a strong majority in favour of renewable energy. Anyone can use the Embrace site to lobby their local MP or Council Leader to show support for wind farm developments in their local area. If you’d like to lobby your local MP to sign the pledge please visit our home page, (www.embracemyplanet.com) and click on the pink button to locate and email your local candidate.

You can also support a wind farm in your area by clicking on the green button on our home page.