The size of the planned machines does mean fewer will be needed – around 4,000 such turbines might be enough to reach Sir Keir’s 2030 target.
Most of them will be built in England because, ironically, the ban means it has the best remaining undeveloped sites.
Where will they be built? And at what price for wildlife and the landscape?
Wind in Wales
Perhaps the best guide comes from what’s happened in Wales, where the devolved government has rewritten planning laws to get similar results to those planned by Mr Miliband. Its “Future Wales – the National Plan 2040” sets out three crucial changes to the planning regime.
One of those changes took decision-making responsibility for larger wind farms out of the hands of local councils. Such projects are now decided instead by Labour ministers.
Another change introduced a “presumption in favour of large‑scale wind energy developments” – meaning more and taller turbines – up to 850ft in height. Such massive machines were previously only deployed offshore.
Applications for developments have surged. So too have the number of protest groups that have sprung up in towns and villages from Anglesey in the north to Powys in the south – each fighting their own battle against what they see as the onslaught of the turbines.
Those battles could now be repeated across England. Mark Sullivan, chairman of the West Midlands group of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “It’s worth remembering that the current policy is not a ban. Developers who obtain community support can get permission for turbines. It is just that people living in rural England will not give that support.”
The arguments are not just about landscapes. Building wind farms means installing foundations, laying cables, building substations and often roads too. Once built, turbines can cause further disruption through “flicker” – caused by sunlight reflected off moving blades – and low level vibrations transmitted in the air or ground.
Nor are nimbys the only species threatened with life-changing disruptions. The British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Wildlife Trusts all support clean energy but warn that badly-sited turbines can drive birds and bats away and disrupt ecosystems.
They have called for ecological impact assessments “at the very start of the planning process”.
The Welsh government’s answer to that was zoning – creating “Pre‑Assessed Areas for Wind Energy” – meaning vast tracts of Welsh countryside are deemed suitable for wind farms, whatever locals might think.
Local authorities across England have already started writing wind development areas into their local plans – awaiting Mr Miliband’s promised change in planning law.
Northumberland County Council, for example, has published a 47-page guide to the best areas for new wind farms.
For now Mr Miliband is steering away from such “zoning”, suggesting that it’s just too early to go into such details. However, it is clear that he wants to get these things built one way or another.
“We just want to lift this ban,” he says. “At the moment, it’s easier to build an incinerator than it is to have an onshore wind development. And that doesn’t make any sense.”
