News Elsewhere contains mainly articles we have permission to republish from Views of Scotland and Country Guardian. You can learn more about these organisations by visiting: http://www.countryguardian.net/ and http://www.viewsofscotland.org/. Occasionally we will also post news from elsewhere on the web.
Since the 1990s, more than £200 million of community benefit funding has been awarded from wind farms and hydro projects to those living in their shadow. The sums are substantial. Last year alone, over £30 million was distributed across 283 projects, supporting everything from bird boxes and woodland paths to Read more
Keir Starmer has tasked a Conservative peer with writing a new planning bill to remove the ability for environmental groups to delay projects such as Heathrow’s third runway with judicial reviews. The Guardian understands that leaving the Aarhus convention is being discussed as an option. This is an international treaty Read more
The view north of Ben Wyvis is set to be “desecrated” by a nine-turbine wind farm in front of the iconic massif after Highland Council chose not to object to the plan. https://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/views-of-ben-wyvis-set-to-be-desecrated-by-a-new-nine-turb-393302/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNFE5JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHts985HR4jgBHHxvs49ORDbFlpP7ZPfzTcNrlm4pSzKt-T6_sdTBLwjzB4gl_aem_5rAUEPkdvOItTLMbYK_lAA
A CONTROVERSIAL plan for a new wind farm with 220-metre-tall turbines near Cumnock has been refused by East Ayrshire’s planning committee. Green Cat Renewables (GCR) had submitted the proposals for the new Drum Wind Farm site, just south of Lugar and Cronberry. But the planning committee agreed to reject the Read more
A new type of wind turbine blade that can be recycled at the end of its operational life has been developed at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Hull. The 354ft (108m) blades are made using a type of resin that can be broken down to allow materials to be reused Read more
Network operator SSEN Transmission has announced up to £5.5 million in contracts on offer to local business in the north of Scotland over five years. The Perth-based firm also announced the start of work to upgrade its substation at New Deer, which is expected to connect several offshore wind farms Read more
Herald letters INDEPENDENT global experts have now shown the North Sea holds far greater reserves than Labour admits. Potentially enough to sustain Britain’s energy needs throughout the transition to net zero. Yet instead of encouraging development, Labour imposes crushing taxes, bans new licences, and repeats hollow soundbites about “orderly transition.” Read more
In the first article of this series, I outlined the case for the prosecution against the current approach to regulating the impact of noise from wind turbines in the UK. In this article I will examine what might be considered pleas for understanding and mitigation. I have no intention of Read more