A 970MW offshore windfarm application has been refused by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) due to the potential visual impact to the landscape.
Energy secretary Amber Rudd said that the project posed a “significant adverse impact” to viewers standing on the Dorset coastline, much of which is designated by Unesco as a world heritage site due to its natural beauty.
Bad news for EDF Energy and Dutch energy company Eneco who have been developing the Navitus Bay windfarm for over three years.
Navitus Bay project director Stuart Grant said: “During the past five years the project team has carried out comprehensive stakeholder and community consultation. We will now discuss the options available with our shareholders and update stakeholders in due course.”
The project would have generated a predicted 3TWh of electricity per year and been a huge step towards producing more renewable energy.
We’re a bit perplexed as to why the application has been refused. Surely it’s better to create clean energy for the future rather than curtailing development in order to save the views?
Vice president of energy Andy Taylor said: “In proposed projects like Navitus Bay we are seeing the cost of wind production come down, which is great for the economy. New innovations in technology are now able to reduce the Levelised Cost of Wind Energy from approximately £140 per MWh, down to £100. It would be great to see a project like Navitus Bay get off the drawing board.”
The decision to refuse the wind project is the second one to be rejected in the last few weeks, after the DECC onshore wind projects.
While we appreciate the reasoning for objections to onshore wind farms with locals complaining about the potential effect on traffic and biodiversity, we are flummoxed as to the real reasoning behind refusing offshore power.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the government holds hostility towards renewable energy having stopped subsidies for onshore wind and solar power and energy-efficient homes.
We’ll be watching with interest to see how they plan to meet climate-change targets without promoting the development of clean energy.
For advice on renewable energy, give Business Juice a call on 0800 051 5770.