The Labour Party’s plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 will not be hindered by high costs, as the country’s rural landowners throughout the British Isles are fiercely opposing solar and wind projects. Since January 1, nearly four dozen rejections of solar or wind projects have been made in England, Ireland, and Scotland. The opposition has been ongoing since at least 2016, when local campaigners defeated a proposal to build a 12-turbine wind project near Scotland’s Loch Ness.
The latest high-profile battle is over the proposed Calderdale Energy project in West Yorkshire, which would be one of the biggest onshore wind projects in England. The project calls for 41 massive turbines, standing 200 meters high, to be built amid Walshaw Moor, a region believed to have inspired Emily Brontë’s masterpiece, “Wuthering Heights.” The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has called the project “entirely inappropriate.”
Despite the hype about renewable energy, land-use conflicts remain a binding constraint on the expansion of solar and wind energy. Land-use conflicts are a binding constraint on the expansion of renewable energy in England, Ireland, Scotland, and rural communities worldwide. Farmers, ranchers, and residents of rural communities will continue to fight to protect their communities, and the numbers in the Global Renewable Rejection Database will continue to rise.
