Completed petition Environmental Planning for Small Scale Wind Turbine Sites
We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to ask the Welsh Government to pass legislation to enable the following planning law. The laws would place conditions on all wind turbine applications, which do not form part of a commercial wind farm development. 1) We ask that such turbines shall not exceed 47metres to blade tip. 2) That the consent of 50% of residents, over the age of sixteen, living within 3Km.of the proposed site give signed approval of the plan. 3) That all turbines outside Wind Farm Developments are restricted to an operational period between 06.00 Hrs and 21.00Hrs to protect nocturnal birds and mammals. 4) That public consultation and written evidence is offered, and supplied to all residences within 4Km. of a proposed site to comply with the Aarhus convention. 5) All turbines should be constructed of materials which are 100% recyclable and all ground works removed at the end of operations.
More details
The laws proposed in the petition are required for the Environmental benefit of Rural Areas, and a short explanation for the need follows: 1) The 47mt. limit is based on twice a mature tree height, making the turbine more acceptable on aesthetic grounds. 2) Individual planning without the consent of local communities is contrary to EU legislation. 3) Turbines are life limited by operational hours. Restricting their night time operation only reduces the payback period for the operator. Wales has lost 60% of its biodiversity and cannot allow profit only schemes to outweigh the desperate need for recovery. There is no supply shortage in night time periods. 4) Wider public consultation is needed to ensure the right renewable energy for an area is chosen. 5) Smaller scale turbines do not need turbine blades and parts manufactured from composite materials which are unrecyclable.
This petition was considered by the Petitions Committee
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