GIVE us more wind farms.
That's the message from environmental campaigners in Dorset.
They claim there is just a single onshore turbine in the east of the county which produced three megawatt hours of electricity in 2020.
This was up from two megawatt-hours the year before.
Now, in response to the revelation, representatives from environmental campaigns say plans for an offshore wind farm should be revisited.
It comes just weeks after the leader of BCP Council dismissed the idea of considering a wind farm in the region again.
The controversial Navitus Bay offshore wind farm project was rejected by the government seven years ago following heated campaigning and opposition.
The scrapped project by EDF Energy and Eneco would have seen up to 121 turbines sited 13 nine miles from Swanage.
Speaking about the Government's plans, Green Party councillor Simon Bull, said: “I wouldn’t say the Dorset area is very green.
"It doesn't have any major green generation. Obviously we would have had the wind farm, but that didn’t go ahead, although there's plenty of scope for revisiting that.
“It's quite disappointing the government’s continued reliance on future nuclear power which we've been promised for a long time and is not something I would support anyway.
“We need to act now to leave oil in the ground and take control of our regeneration of energy.
“We need more wind turbine energy and more tidal energy and more solar power, it’s all there, the wherewithal is there, we just need to develop it as quickly as possible.
“What we also need to be doing is looking at homes, installation and not wasting the energy we do have.
“In Dorset and out in the sea, we need to increase renewable energy and move away from oil as soon as we can.”
Friends of the Earth representative, Angela Pooley, said: “There are quite a lot of solar farms now, which is good, but we need to make room now for more, especially offshore wind, I think they should be really looking at that again.
“It should also be written into planning for new builds that they've got to be energy efficient and wherever possible, have solar panels fitted.
“We need to change the basic planning rules and move away from fossils, no more extensions, the important thing is to reinvest in renewables. So more wind farms would be perfect.”
In July 2019, BCP Council pledged as an organisation to be carbon neutral by 2030, with the whole of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole hitting this target by 2050.
In this year's budget a £20million fund dedicated to tackling climate change was announced by the council.
It will be split into £4million per year over the next five years.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole produced three megawatt-hours of electricity through one onshore wind turbine in 2020.
This was up from two MWh the year prior.
Among five recorded renewable energy sources, onshore wind ranked last in the area.
The figures show that in the wider Dorset area, 2,406 megawatt-hours were produced (the equivalent of two gigawatt-hours) of electricity through 25 onshore wind turbines in 2020.
This was up from 1,942 MWh the year prior.
Among five recorded renewable energy sources, onshore wind ranked fourth in the area.
Solar power produced the most renewable energy in Dorset.
The Government’s energy strategy aims to boost new nuclear power, offshore wind and hydrogen, but stops short of increasing onshore wind capacity.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel