Government backing for sustainability increases

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has given its support to local councils which use their planning powers to encourage greater use of renewable energies such as wind and solar.

This comes at the same time as energy minister Mike O’Brien announced an extra £8.5 million in grants for solar and small-scale renewables.

A number of local councils such as Merton, Croydon and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are already using the planning process to increase sustainable energy use in their areas.

The GLA wants 10% of energy to come from sustainable resources. In Planning Policy Statement 22, the ODPM gives other local authorities a clear signal that this is the route it wants them to take:

“Renewable energy developments should be capable of being accommodated throughout England in locations where the technology is viable and environmental, economic, and social impacts can be addressed satisfactorily.”

The Policy Statement goes further, threatening national government interference if not enough is done to back renewables at local level:

“The Government may intervene in the plan making process where it considers that the constraints (on the use of renewable energy sources) being proposed by local authorities are too great or have been poorly justified.”

The extra funding from government brings the total for solar projects to £31 million under the Major Photovoltaics Programme. This will allow three more funding rounds to take place in 2005/06.

Making the announcement, the energy minister commented: “We need to change the way we think about energy. That starts at grass roots level. Today’s extra funding will help get more projects off the drawing board.”