Renewable Energy Projects: Community Benefits
Debate between Angus MacDonald and Ann Davies(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Mr MacDonald
There is a recent change to planning in Scotland—I am unsure whether it extends to England—called national planning framework 4, which makes the economic benefit to the community part of the criteria for getting a plan in, so we are moving towards what my hon. Friend describes.
The areas I mentioned are among our poorest. They suffer from the highest level of fuel poverty, an older population, lack of affordable housing, poor transport infrastructure, struggling market towns, lower wages, and often worse education and health services than cities. Rural people have higher costs and lower incomes.
Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)
In Caerfyrddin, we have the possibility of four lines of new electricity cables and pylons coming through. Does the hon. Member agree that the best community benefit for Caerfyrddin and our rural communities would be to underground the cables rather than have these pylon lines coming through?
Mr MacDonald
Somebody whose opinion I respect greatly told me that undergrounding cables was no more expensive. I was very surprised at that, because I had understood from the transmission line companies in Scotland that it was a great deal more expensive to underground them. I will definitely look into that, because I know that it is a requirement to underground them in Norway. We should explore that issue further.
So we have boom time in renewables, generating trillions of pounds over many decades, and we have a rural population that really needs financial help and investment.