I thought you might be interested in the way planning approval for wind farms has now entered a 'new' (to me at least) phase. Does anyone else have similar examples?

http://ridgewind.com/projects/beinneun/

this is the website for a company hoping to install a windfarm in the Scottish Highlands. It was a half page advertisement in the Oban Times that drew my attention.

Whilst the website link doesn't show their intentions, the Oban Times advert is very clear in their intention.

Their website....

RidgeWind has agreed to help the community to form, and will continue to support, a co-operative, principally comprising local individuals and organisations. The purpose of the co-operative is to promote and provide projects relating to renewable energy and provide support to the proposed Beinneun Wind Farm, with the aim of ensuring that the local community secures the benefits that an operational wind farm at Beinneun would bring.

Oban Times advertisment

Opportunity to Participate

To support its objectives, the co-operative is seeking to raise between £100,000 and £200,000, which it would contribute towards the costs of the planning process for the porposed wind farm.

If planning consent and a connection to the electricity network are obtained, the co-operative would be awarded an uplift of 50% on its contribution (ie £1.50 return for a £1 investment)

Only half of the co-operative's contribution will be returned if planning consent and network connection not obtained.

Priority will be given to local individuals and organisations.

Minimum subscription £250, maximum £13,300

This is, straight up, buying of votes to secure the outcome of a planning application process.

(my bold throughout)

Some of the local people interested in taking up that scheme might like to ask for disclosure on the money that the Ridgewind people would actually trouser should the scheme go ahead, and compare that with the return on their co-operative investment. Pretty cool to ask the community to part fund the proposers planning costs.

There are lots of Co-Ops all over the country allowing local people to invest in windfarms. Check out Energy4All.

A contact in the Wind Farm industry told me the increase in the land value once permission is granted is at least 10 fold. Its based on the installed capacity so the more Wind Mills you can cram on the bigger the increase.

This topic caught my eye.....

The "rush to renewables" is causing all sorts of problems and the term corruption I believe extends to the regulatory authorities who see the opportunity for a bit of a power and influence land grab.

I'm looking at a hydro power project where The Environment Agency - who are the licensing agent for what are known as abstraction licences required in most cases (not all) to operate a micro hydro scheme - have busied themselves showing favouritism towards "their mates", broken laws, dissembled on an industrial scale, and outright lied their faces off.

The are supposed to be a simple licensing authority and their duties are prescribed in statute law - but that isn't enough for them - they feel the need to make up stuff as they go - sometimes even changing their "procedures" after the event and 'pon occasion - losing applications at what turn out to be critical moments....

They have been coercing applicants into wholly unnecessary procedures.
They are showing clear and irrational bias towards "favoured applicants"
They've been breaking the law.
They have been destroying documents and refusing to comply with FoI
They have refused to explain themselves to MPs
They have been hauled up to the High Court and been forced to quash decisions....

Yes, OK - this is a bit of advocacy - but... it's renewable "green" power and it's the planning process and it's perversion of process and we believe it's corruption....

See:

A partial hydropower planning primer

The story....

Apologies to The Bish in advance if this is deemed inappropriate matter.....