Onshore windfarms are going up across the UK but many locals fight against their installation Local communities in England which agree to site an onshore windfarm will receive payment backed by the government, under new plans.
Renewable UK, the renewable energy trade association, will launch a “wind energy industry guarantee” that will average £20,000 per year per project.
With the average life of a windfarm estimated at 20 years, this could add up to £400,000.
There are also plans to offer other benefits.
There will be a commitment to pay £1,000 per megawatt (MW) of installed capacity each year for the lifetime of a wind farm whose average output is expected to be 20MW.
Windfarms have been controversial in some areas, with some campaigners saying they are noisy and spoil the landscape.
The initiative will be launched later on Wednesday by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Renewable UK.
A joint statement from the two said: “The package of measures will see wind farm developments of 5MW and above that are submitted to planning authorities come with a commitment to community funds and/ or benefits in kind.”
It adds that although goodwill payments already apply when a windfarm is built, there are no common national standards.
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