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Questions and Answers:

Windfarms and Renewable Energy

An edited version of this document appears in walk Spring 2007 edition

Download this document in pdf format.

Climate change has raced to the top of the political agenda.  As walkers and users of the countryside, Ramblers members know more than most the importance of protecting and enhancing our environment for the benefit of all.  Some windfarm developments, which could help tackle climate change, have presented a difficult – and controversial – choice for the Ramblers’ Association.  But don’t believe everything you read in the papers about our policy…

Is the Ramblers’ Association opposed to all windfarms?

No!  Wind power has an important role to play in providing clean, renewable energy, which will reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. 

We believe that it is possible to develop a diverse range of renewable energy technologies, including wind power, which can both tackle climate change and protect our most unique and beautiful landscapes.  Unfortunately, current government policy favours a much more ‘blunt instrument’ and shies away from more innovative approaches.

So what is the Ramblers' position on windfarms?

In 2002, General Council agreed the following motion:

“This General Council calls upon government to invest immediately and substantially in industrial and domestic energy conservation, and environmentally sensitive sources of renewable energy.  When wind power is developed alternatives should be found to the siting of wind turbines in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and other scenic areas.”

This means that there are many areas of the country where we will not object to the construction of wind turbines – for example, the Black Law site in Scotland, which is currently one of the largest wind farms in the UK.  It does mean, however, that where a local Group or Area of the Ramblers’ Association feels that a turbine development will damage the countryside in which they walk, they have the right to object to it and can ask for support from Ramblers campaign staff in doing so.

We are not calling for a ‘ban’ on windfarms.  Instead, we want government to change its policy so that power companies are encouraged to invest in a range of different technologies, and it simply becomes unnecessary to focus only on large-scale wind turbine construction.

Like all Ramblers’ Association policies, this is rooted in the experience and the wishes of our members, as expressed through General Council and the elected Board of Trustees.  Any member who has a different opinion is entitled to get involved with their local branch and bring a motion to General Council.

But surely putting up wind turbines, even in beautiful areas, is a price worth paying if it helps tackle climate change?

Even if we covered the country in windfarms, it would not, on its own, be enough to tackle climate change – there is no single ‘magic bullet’ to stop the damage our current lifestyles are causing to the planet.  The government’s Sustainable Development Commission has argued that reducing the amount of electricity we use, through conservation and efficiency measures, is the most effective way to cut carbon emissions. 

As walkers, we know that using our feet to get around is the most environmentally friendly form of transport and recreation there is.  In coming months and years, the Ramblers will be working with other organisations to demand more political action from the government to tackle climate change, and to encourage members to do as much as they can to reduce their ‘carbon footprint’.

So how can we stop the spread of very large windfarms and still reduce carbon emissions?

In our submissions to the government Energy Reviews of 2003 and 2006, we called for reform of the Renewables Obligation system.  This is a subsidy provided by government to encourage renewable energy technology.  So far it has helped fund ever-bigger onshore windfarms, at the expense of smaller scale, community-owned developments.  With proper ‘banding’ of this system, funds would become available to bring a wider range of technologies to market, including off-shore wind, wave/tidal power, biomass, clean-burn and carbon-capture fossil fuel generation.  Changes to building regulations could also enforce better home insulation and micro-generation of electricity at street level.    Bringing these technologies on stream will reduce the need for massive turbines in the countryside at the same time as cutting carbon emissions.

This is the essence of our campaign demand.  We want the government to use its subsidy system to fund community wind schemes, such as the three small turbines powering the Isle of Gigha, and efficient offshore schemes, such as the Thames Array, rather than turbines which will dwarf the nearby hills, such as Fullabrook Down in Devon.

Doesn’t this leave us open to being called NIMBYs?

Ramblers members have been called much worse over the years!  In some ways, beautiful parts of the countryside are a ‘back yard’ that belong to us all, where we have the right to peaceful enjoyment of the landscape and vistas, and where it is not appropriate for large-scale industrial intrusions such as modern 120m-tall wind turbines.

But this is not a NIMBY position – there are places where we do not have a problem with wind farms being constructed.  We simply reserve the right to campaign for the ‘protection and enhancement for the benefit of the public of the beauty of the countryside’ – a charitable aim of the Ramblers’ Association since its foundation in 1935.

We are not alone in this.  Other environmental organisations, including the RSPB and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, have opposed the construction of wind turbines in environmentally sensitive areas.

So how can a ‘diverse mix of energy generation’ be achieved?

Microgeneration of electricity, biomass, marine technologies, and combined heat & power systems, all have potential to be part of a diverse mix of technologies that can help cut greenhouse gas emissions.  A reformed Renewables Obligation should support development of such technologies, again with sensitivity and care to different environmental impacts.

There will be a need for large-scale generation, and use of fossil fuels should be as clean and efficient as possible.  Caution must be exercised in any development of coalfields to avoid leaving a legacy of damaged landscapes through spoil-heaps from mining operations.  We recognise that nuclear power is one of a range of possible energy supply options and concur with the findings of the Sustainable Development Commission that development of new nuclear plant is a choice rather than an absolute necessity (SDC 2006).

Sorry, but I still disagree with the Ramblers on this.  What can I do?

As a member of the public, you are entitled to hold whatever opinion you like on wind farms, and can support or object to particular developments in your area through the public planning permission process.  Policy changes at the Ramblers' Association come through General (or Scottish and Welsh) Council(s), and as a member you can approach your local branch and try to have a motion submitted that way.  Above all, please remember this is only one aspect of the vast amount of work carried out by the Ramblers on behalf our members and for the benefit of the public – promoting walking, fighting for access, improving rights of way, and protecting the countryside.