The Government's National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (EN3) 

Most people are completely unaware of the above National Policy Statement (NPS) and how it affects them personally. BHATS interest in the NPS relates to the development of onshore wind farms.  

Many proposed wind farms developments are turned down by the local planning authorities due to local opposition.  This expression of local democracy is obviously frustrating to a government who are publicly committed to onshore wind farms. The main purpose of the NPS therefore is to enable more, and larger, wind farms to be constructed by by-passing the local planners and transferring the decision to a central government office in Bristol.

The NPS allows developers who propose a wind farm in excess of 50MW, to apply directly to central government for planning approval.  There is a built-in 'loophole' that allows developers to simply claim their wind farm will be over 50MW without specifying the actual turbines to be used.  They could then be free to install smaller turbines having successfully side-stepped the local planning authorities.  Incidentally the turbine towers would probably be the same size only with reduced power.  The local planning authority would have minimal influence on the decision.  Local people would have even less.

The NPS does not require developers to include the building of electricity pylons and power lines in their plans.  This despite the fact that one is clearly useless without the other.  They are obviously part of the same development and one has to wonder what the motivation is to keep them separate?

The NPS allows wind farm developers to change the location of turbine towers even after planning approval has been given.

Why are wind farm developers given so much leeway in their applications?  Other developers do not have these advantages and once again, one has to ask why?

Below are BHATS comments to the Select Committee on the draft NPS, and a sample letter to an MP sitting on the Select Committee.  Click on the images to open the Microsoft Word document in a new window.

BHATS Official Response to the NPS Sample Letter to MP Regarding the NPS   For more information on the NPS or anything else, please contact us.