environmental statement - Rotherham's Online Application for ...

to ensure that every home is adequately and affordably heated.
1.19 Box 5.3.3 of the White Paper is a “Renewables Statement of Need”
detailing the Government‟s current policy towards the development of
renewables and the important role they have to play in helping the UK
meet its energy policy goals.
1.20 The Renewables Statement of Need states:
„New renewable projects may not always appear to convey any particular
local benefit, but they provide crucial national benefits. Individual
renewable projects are part of a growing proportion of low carbon
generation that provides benefits shared by all communities both through
reduced emissions and more diverse supply of energy, which helps the
reliability of our supplies. This factor is a material consideration to which
all participants in the planning system should give significant weight when
considering renewable energy proposals. These wider benefits are not
always immediately visible to the specific locality in which the project is
sited. However, the benefits to society and the wider economy as a whole
are significant and this must be reflected in the weight given to these
considerations by decision makers in reaching their decisions.‟
1.21 The Government‟s “UK Renewable Energy Strategy – Consultation
Document” was published in June 2008. This is a consultation document
seeking views on how to drive up the use of renewable energy in the UK,
as part of an overall strategy for tackling climate change and to meet the
UK share of the EU target to source 20% of the EU's energy from
renewable sources by 2020. Responses to the consultation will help shape
the UK Renewable Energy Strategy which will be published in Spring
2009, once the UK's share of the target has been agreed. The document
reinforces the two key energy policy challenges: to tackle climate change
and ensure security of energy supply. It confirms that renewable sources
of energy are vital as they provide low-carbon energy, increase diversity to
the energy mix and bring key business and employment opportunities.
1.22 Most recently, The Climate Change Act 2008, received Royal Ascent on
26 th November 2008, and introduces the world‟s first long term legally
binding framework to tackle the dangers of climate change. This
legislation reiterates the UK government‟s commitment to the role of
renewable energy as an important factor in the move to a low carbon
economy.
1.23 There are also strong socio-economic arguments in support of the
development of renewable energy. Until recently the availability of
relatively cheap supplies of oil and gas from countries such as Columbia,
Russia and Poland led to increased levels of imports. International
increases in the price of gas and oil, and increased instability in the
availability of imports from some of these countries has led to a review of
the country‟s future energy sources. Renewable energy seeks to redress
the balance by delivering greater self-sufficiency in energy supply. There
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Penny Hill Wind Farm
Environmental Statement