Wind farm proposals for Northumberland
Government targets require 10% of energy consumed to come from renewable sources by the year 2010 and 20% 2020. The only source of renewable energy currently available to us is we are to meet these targets is wind.
Our region has many areas suitable for wind generation and Northumberland has some way to go to meets its regional target for on-shore wind generation. Unfortunately, these are also very sensitive areas for reasons of landscape quality and ecological value.
In 1999 the Society published a policy statement acknowledging the case for renewable energy sourcing to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.
In rural areas we felt that proposals for small turbines serving isolated farms or small remote communities might generally be acceptable. For larger wind farms we would oppose development in the National Park, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Heritage Coastline, the Roman Wall corridor and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Outside these areas we saw the key measures of acceptability as:
- Environmental impact
- Visual impact on horizons visible from ‘protected areas’
- The cumulative impact of developments
The Society continues to monitor planning applications for wind farms in Northumberland. A summary of proposals has been compiled and is available for viewing or downloading from this site.
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