Domestic energy bills are helping to prop up Britain’s windfarm industry, with every job in the sector effectively costing £100,000 a year in subsidies, according to reports yesterday.
A national newspaper said wind turbine owners received £1.2billion in consumer subsidies last year. Supporting 12,000 jobs, the subsidy – paid by a supplement on electricity bills – equates to around £100,000 per post.
The figures are yet another blow to the beleaguered wind industry, which already faces increasingly fierce opposition from residents in coastal areas ripe for hosting the technology.
Lord Teverson, who leads on energy and climate change for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, said the subsidies were not primarily for “a job creation programme”, but rather allowed Britain to compete at the forefront of the renewable technology industry.
He said: “It (a subsidy) is in terms of getting us ahead in the world and gives us skills we can export.
“It is a good investment for the future. The positive is Britain wants to be at the forefront of this.”
West Country based Lord Teverson, who lives in region boasting more than 100 turbines, said some element of subsidy for renewable energy projects was “inevitable” while the technology is still in its infancy.
He added: “There are some high start-up costs and money is needed for investment, but after that the energy is free.
“I can see how the idea of a subsidy for renewables doesn’t sit well with some, but you ask most people down here (in Cornwall) about wind turbines and it is not high on their agenda of things to worry about, unlike the shortage of affordable housing.”
The figures come in the wake of tough new rules mooted south of the border to help locals have more say in opposing plans for on-shore windfarms over fears about both the physical blight on the countryside and the noise from some of the larger turbines.
Developers, too, have also received short shrift in the courts, after a landmark ruling last year where Mrs Justice Lang ruled in favour of preserving the landscape of the Norfolk Broads, rather than allow for four giant turbines to be built on the site.
It is thought changes to planning guidance, raised earlier this month, would put the future of onshore wind under serious threat due to giving greater weight to local opposition over the need for renewable energy, taking the impact of turbines on the landscape and local heritage into consideration.
Concerns have already been voiced by some within the renewables industry that an increase in “sweetener” payments, paid by companies to those who host the technology, could have made some developments uneconomic and scupper any benefits.
The Government said the subsidies did more than simply support jobs.
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: “Subsidies for wind have multiple benefits for the economy, supporting jobs is only one important factor. Wind power adds to our energy security as part of a diverse energy mix, alongside nuclear, gas and other renewables. In 2012, over 5% of all electricity generated came from wind power.”
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