Lord Cormack
Main Page: Lord Cormack (Conservative - Life peer)
Baroness Verma
My Lords, the noble Baroness raises important points that are relevant to Northumberland. I reassure her that all wind farms must be well designed and well sited to be approved, and applications for onshore wind farms can be turned down because of local concerns. The Government have taken this issue very seriously, which is why we called for evidence. That consultation has recently closed. We are looking at what the response has been to that and we will report back in spring, with a full report in May.
Lord Cormack
My Lords, will my noble friend heed what was said by the noble Baroness opposite? Onshore wind farms are unreliable, uneconomical and unsightly, and Mr John Hayes voiced the views of many people in this country when he said, “Enough is enough”.
Baroness Verma
I reassure noble Lords that we have taken the concerns of local constituencies very seriously, which was why we called for evidence. However, this does not mean that we will be changing our policy. Government policy remains that onshore wind will continue to be part of ensuring that we have a diverse mix of renewable energy sources.