Conservatives to end subsidies for onshore wind farms

UK prime minister David Cameron's Conservative party vowed to end government subsidies for onshore wind farms if it won the national election next year.

The move would increase uncertainty for investors in renewable energy, according to commentators.

According to Michael Fallon, a Conservative energy minister, onshore wind still had a role to play in helping the UK meet its energy needs and renewable energy targets, however, the industry no longer required government subsidies.

"We now have enough bill payer-funded onshore wind in the pipeline to meet our renewable energy commitments, and there's no requirement for any more," Fallon said, in comments released by his office yesterday.

"That's why the next Conservative government will end any additional bill payer subsidy for onshore wind and give local councils the decisive say on any new wind farms."

He added, there would still be subsidies for onshore wind farms currently in the planning system but any further projects would no longer receive support.

Under the Conservative Party's plans, onshore wind farms would also be subject to tighter local planning rules.

The government's renewable subsidy regime had always foreseen ending direct support once technologies were able to compete commercially.

The government was able to introduce cuts to onshore wind subsidies late last year but increased support for offshore wind.

Cameron added that there would be measures in the planning system to ensure local people's views were not "overridden" if the Conservatives won the general election next year.

However, the proposed move was quickly slammed as "disastrous for business and jobs" by Ed Davey, the Lib Dem energy secretary.

Sky News cited Conservative insiders as saying the proposals, which would be implemented within six months of a Tory win, would "effectively curtail further large-scale onshore wind developments".

Cameron told Sky News, that onshore wind had an important role to play in generating electricity in the country. He added the government wanted a varied supply of electricity.

He said there would be a decent number of onshore wind turbines but the fact was there was no need for more than what were already in the planning system.

He said, a future Conservative government would no longer subsidise onshore wind and would have proper safeguards in the planning system so that local views were paramount and not overridden by national imperatives.

He stressed it was not the end of onshore wind and it would make an important contribution to the UK's electricity, but there would not be lots of new large-scale wind farm developments.