New national alliance to oppose wind farms

In a statement that has provoked an angry response from the wind energy industry, The National Alliance of Wind Farm Action Groups (NAWAG) pulls no punches, accusing wind farm developers of using "cowboy tactics" to force turbines on communities.

NAWAG presents itself as a David fighting the superior financial muscle and strategic positioning of Goliath wind farm developers.

Its chairman, Jon McLeod, who also happens to be chairman of corporate communications and public affairs at PR firm Weber Shandwick and an experienced parliamentary lobbyist, said: “For too long, the ‘greenwash’ of the wind industry has gone unchallenged, and that stops today. As anyone who has come up against the pro-wind lobby will tell you, behind wind power’s ‘cuddly’ image lies a cynical and harsh reality.”

Responding to NAWAG’s attack, Charles Anglin communications director at the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) said: “The wind industry is happy to engage in a debate on the merits of wind energy, but that debate needs to be based on facts, not half truths, mis-representations and false accusations.

“As an industry we pride ourselves on our efforts to engage with local communities and independent surveys show that 80 per cent of people regularly support the expansion of wind power in this country.

“This week is Wind Week and thousands will be visiting wind farms and learning the truth about wind energy and we urge the opponents to do the same. After that we might perhaps be able to engage in a sensible debate rather than having wild and unsubstantiated claims thrown at us from a position of ignorance.”

NAWAG’s suggestion that the planning process is too lenient, and that the industry uses strong-armed tactics to get projects approved, is likely to particularly rankle with the wind energy industry. It tends to take the opposing view and has fought hard to get the Government to ease what it sees as an obstructive planning process.  

When the UK’s only blade manufacturer, Vestas, announced that it would be closing its manufacturing plant on the Isle of Wight earlier this year, one of the reasons it gave was planning delays in the UK market.

Nevertheless, NAWAG says: “Affected communities are now being increasingly ‘worn down’ by ruthless developers who submit repeated planning applications, securing permission through a process of attrition.”

The BWEA’s Anglin finds this hard to take from an organisation which, he says, is headed up by paid lobbyists. “What are they saying? That they are against leaflets going out? Against exhibitions? That they are against the applicant explaining [the project] to council officials and local councillors? I am astounded that they seem to believe it is wrong for a legitimate business to talk to the public and public servants.”

NAWAG’s grounds for opposing wind farms range from the aesthetic and what it sees as the potential for damage to tourism, to concerns about people’s health and the threat to habitats and wildlife.

It hopes to recruit as many as possible of what it claims to be the 200-plus local action groups across Britain to its cause.

It is also making engagement with the Conservative Shadow Cabinet a priority – claiming many of its members actively oppose wind farm developments in their home constituencies.