Big Thames Wind Farm is Blown Away By Planners

Jun 08 - Evening Standard; London (UK)

The Government's promised green energy revolution appeared to be in tatters today after a planning application for a landmark wind farm for London was rejected.

The Pounds 1.5 billion London Array project, for 270 huge turbines in the Thames estuary to produce enough electricity to power a quarter of the capital's homes, looks set to be scrapped after a Kent council refused permission to link it to a new substation near Faversham.

London Array, 12 miles off Margate, is Britain's single largest proposed-wind farm. However, Swale Borough Council has rejected plans for a substation to link the wind farm to the National Grid because of objections by local villagers and the "substantial environmental impact" to the North Kent Marshes area.

The rejection is the most high-profile setback for the Government's attempts to hit its target of having 10% of Britain's energy produced by renewable energy such as wind.

It is also a kick in the teeth for oil giant Shell, which is leading the London Array consortium as it attempts to reinvent itself as an energy company with green credentials.

"It is a disappointment," said Shell WindEnergy executive Andrew Murfin. "We are now considering our options." He said the site at Cleve Hill near the village of Graveney was the only viable location for a substation. Shell is considering whether to appeal to the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Ruth Kelly.

If London Array were to go ahead, it would not be expected to start producing electricity until 2010 against the original plans of 2008.

However, the planning knockback could be the excuse the London Array consortium is looking for to scrap the project.

Shell's London Array partners, Powergen group E.On and Danish business Energi2, have already been warning that spiralling costs could scupper the project. Labour costs for the wind farm, capable of producing 1000 megawatts, are growing at a time when engineers are being sucked into huge construction projects surrounding the Olympics and London Gateway redevelopment.

Raw material costs for steel and copper have been at all-time highs.

Demand for turbines, especially from the US, has also caused a shortage, driving up manufacturers' prices.

E.On, which has already scrapped one offshore wind project in Wales, said: "We have to make sure the sums add up. If the scheme is not economic, then you've got a problem."

Swale Borough Council leader Andrew Bowles said locals would be blighted by up to five years of construction: "This small rural community didn't ask for the wind farm and doesn't deserve to have its existence disrupted for several years."