Portugal to start building its largest wind farm in 2025
05/07/2024
The new wind farm will have a capacity of 274 megawatts (MW), which is equivalent to the annual energy needs of 128 000 homes. Portugal’s
Barriers imposed by the Conservative Party have prevented the development of new wind farms in the country for the last nine years.
The new Labour Party government has lifted the Conservative Party’s ban on onshore wind farms in the UK, which has been in place since 2015. Labour has described the restrictions as “absurd” and believes its policy will increase the country’s energy independence, reduce energy bills and support the creation of highly skilled jobs.
This change had been one of the promises made by Labour in February this year, even before early elections were called, and was included in the party’s election manifesto.
The measure follows a study by Friends of the Earth, which concluded that using less than 3% of England’s land for onshore wind and solar energy production could produce 13 times more clean energy than is currently produced – enough to supply all households in England twice over.
“The ban on onshore wind energy has been in place for nine years. We’ve been in government for 72 hours and we’ve already lifted it,” said Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Zero Emissions. “That’s the pace at which we’re going to move forward.”
The ban was introduced during David Cameron’s term in office, on the grounds that the country had enough wind projects. Cameron introduced two footnotes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – the rules governing the planning and development of homes and infrastructure in the UK – which required irrefutable proof that there was no local opposition to new wind turbines, making it almost impossible for new projects to go ahead, as there is almost always some local resistance to any proposed construction. The rules applied only to onshore wind projects, at a time when wind energy accounted for 10% of the total energy mix.
In Labour’s new NPPF project, these footnotes have been removed in their entirety, meaning that onshore wind projects “will be treated in the same way as other energy development proposals”, the government said in a statement, adding that the changes will come into force immediately.
The removal of the restrictions had long been demanded by environmentalists and energy experts, who were surprised by the new government’s speed.
“By ending the ban on onshore wind power in England, Labour is taking an important step towards meeting our climate targets, while also paving the way for lower bills, as renewables produce some of the cheapest and cleanest energy available,” Mike Childs, director of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, tells The Guardian.
Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist, Doug Parr, also applauded the measure, saying that the ban was “self-defeating for energy security, costly and a missed opportunity to reduce emissions”. The organization had already launched a petition urging former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to end the controversial ban.
In a policy document, the government also reiterated its commitment to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030.
According to the not-for-profit renewable energy trade association RenewableUK, “modern turbines are substantially more efficient and powerful than turbines built in previous decades, so doubling the UK’s onshore wind capacity by 2030 does not mean doubling the number of turbines in the UK. We can produce more energy with fewer new turbines and we can replace older turbines with much more powerful ones, making the most of our magnificent natural wind resources,” reads the statement from the association.
Wind power has become the UK’s largest renewable energy source and the second largest among low-carbon sources, only behind nuclear power, accounting for 29.4% of the country’s energy mix by 2023. By October 2024, the country plans to phase out all remaining coal-fired power stations.
Labour also announced that it would go further and consult on the possibility of designating large wind farms as infrastructure projects of national importance. This means that Miliband would be responsible for approving them and local councils would have no say in the matter.
Despite advances in green policies, Labour has been the target of criticism after announcing that it would significantly scale back its decarbonization plans, reducing the annual allocation from 28 billion pounds to 23.7 billion pounds over five years. This decision was motivated by concerns about fiscal responsibility and demonstrates the party’s effort to reconcile environmental goals with financial realities, using funds from loans and an unexpected tax on oil and gas companies.
The Labour Party is now under pressure to achieve the goal of decarbonizing the UK’s electricity grid by 2030, with doubts about the feasibility of that goal.
She might have chosen to study Meteorology and Oceanography, but ultimately pursued Communication. And that's fine because if they don't get their weather predictions right, she wouldn't be the one to change that. She started by looking for sustainable ideas and projects for the university, and since then, she has never stopped (who stops, really?). She loves to watch tv shows, but she watches few because she is demanding. You don't need much to convince her to embrace new, "greener" habits and challenges.
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