Wind Turbines

The hon. Gentleman will understand it if I do not get drawn into a discussion about a specific application in his constituency, and there are good planning and legal reasons why I should not do so. On the general point, however, developers must also bear the costs and incentives in mind. If they appeal, that is not a costless exercise, and they might incur significant costs. In fact, if the case goes to judicial review, which the hon. Gentleman mentioned in his speech, the court will decide whether there are arguments to be heard. If the developer loses, the defendant can, in some circumstances, claim costs from them. That must be borne in mind. I want, however, to deal with the renewables obligation, because it is important to explain it. The Government do not pay a subsidy to onshore wind farm developers at any stage in the delivery of the project, but all eligible generators of renewable electricity can benefit from the renewables obligation. The renewables obligation is administered by the regulator, Ofgem, and places an obligation on licensed electricity suppliers to source a specific and increasing proportion of their sales from renewable sources. Ofgem issues renewables obligation certificates—ROCs—to generators for every megawatt-hour of eligible renewable generation. That means that developers receive support only once the project is up and running. It might help to illustrate what has happened so far if I give some of the facts and figures from last year. Up to that point, approximately 750 MW of renewable energy capacity were operating in the country and about 375 MW had been rejected by local planning authorities, which translates into about 50 plans being approved and roughly 25 not going forward. The reasons for their not going forward often included environmental considerations, as well as visual impact, aviation issues and noise concerns. The renewables obligation therefore operates on the same level playing field as any other proposed development and does not negate the need for proper planning decisions. For example, it took more than 500 days on average for applications for onshore wind farms to be decided, although in some cases, it can take considerably less time. I quote those figures to stress to hon. Members that although the Government have a serious and deep commitment to their renewables targets, we are not setting aside planning considerations or the proper voice of their constituents and others around the country in judging applications. The planning framework facilitates renewable energy, but also safeguards landscape and nature conservation. The hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) said that offshore wind might be a preferable option, and there is subsidy and support for it. The truth, however, is that we need both offshore and onshore development, and we should not be forced into a choice between them. Offshore developments will tend to be more expensive to establish, although they will benefit from higher wind speeds and fewer obstacles, which will make up for some of the cost. However, we will need both onshore and offshore applications going forward.