11 September 2015
Dorset’s Greens are accusing the government of wasting a once in lifetime opportunity to provide clean, cheap and renewable energy by rejecting plans for the county’s offshore wind farm.
The Navitus Bay proposal to build up to 121 wind turbines between 9 and 12 miles off the Dorset coast has reportedly been turned down by ministers following protests from Richard Drax and other Tory MPS.
The scheme would have provided enough renewable energy for up to three quarters of a million homes -- more than enough for every household in Dorset. The proposal also formed part of the government’s own target to provide 15% of energy from renewables by 2020.
Kelvin Clayton, Chair of the West and South Dorset Green Party said:
“This decision is deeply damaging to Dorset’s economy. The wind farm could have created thousands of skilled jobs in a county where decent wages and career opportunities are increasingly hard to come by for countless young people.
“More importantly this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide vast amounts of cheap, clean, safe and renewable energy. David Cameron’s claim to lead the greenest government in history now looks a hollow boast. A decision to reject wind power can only increase the prospect of communities in Dorset instead facing the threat of fracking.
“The argument that the wind farm would have put the Jurassic Coast at risk is very misleading. The real threat to Dorset’s prosperity and sustainability comes from global warming. Rising sea levels threaten not just Dorset’s World Heritage site but also the coastal communities living alongside it.
“The wind farm was not part of the problem….it was part of the solution“.
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