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Guidance for Wind Developers

The following guidance will be of interest to Wind Developers as well as Community groups and Local Authority officers.

1) BWEA Best Practice Guidelines for Wind Development

The BWEA guidelines are intended to assist the development of appropriate wind energy projects in the UK. They result from consultations with the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage, Countryside Council for Wales and many other organisations including international environment groups, local authorities and specialist agencies.

Clear guidance is given on the environmental and planning issues that should be considered for wind energy projects and the dialogue that should be undertaken. The guidelines are directed at wind energy companies, but are also relevant to others such as local authorities and local communities.

www.bwea.com/ref/bpg.html

2) How to go about keeping the community informed and involved

These are detailed guidelines to the process of public engagement for wind energy developments.  Effective engagement between a developer, the local authority, statutory consultees and the local community can help to ensure that proposals for developments in a locality are better.  Supporting effective engagement is not about being in favour or against a particular proposed development. It is about trying to make sure that:

i) decisions made in the planning system are as well-informed, evidence-based and timely as possible, and;

ii) any development that is permitted reflects an understanding of local interests and opportunities for positive local gain.

3) Delivering Community Benefits

This good practice 'Toolkit' provides information on the options for taking action to negotiate and potentially realise meaningful benefits for local communities. It describes what the options are, what communities can reasonably ask for and the pros and cons of different approaches and is designed to help wind energy developers, local authorities and local communities understand better:

- the range of ways in which ‘host communities’ can benefit from wind energy developments
- the possible justifications for ensuring greater local benefits
- the factors which may influence the nature and scale of benefits available to host communities
- the options for managing the delivery of benefits locally
- the role each of them can potentially play in securing local benefits

4) Community Part Ownership of Wind Farm

If you would like to offer the community the opportunity for part ownership of your wind farm you may find the report below helpful:

This report describes practical ways for communities to have part ownership of commercially developed windpower schemes.  These are potential models of community ownership in wind farms which are
acceptable to lending institutions, developers and the communities themselves.  The intention is that such acceptability will facilitate increased community ownership and help the Government to reach its
renewable energy target by 2010.

The report is not intended to be a guide for communities seeking to raise finance in order to set up a wind farm (other reports of this nature are available).  It is intended first and foremost to establish ways to enable local ownership which fit with typical financing structures for commercial wind farm developments.

This report should be read in conjunction with the 'Delivering Community Benefits from Wind Energy Development - A Toolkit' report available above.

5) Onshore Wind Energy Planning Conditions Guidance Note

The aim of the Guidance Note, available via the link below, is to provide advice on the appropriate types of planning conditions relevant to wind energy development. This advice incorporates information already present within existing planning guidance, provides additional advice regarding the use of planning conditions and outlines generic conditions for use in wind energy developments.

• Onshore wind energy planning conditions guidance note: a report for the Renewables Advisory Board and BERR (121KB)