The government is proposing to remove planning barriers on renewable technologies such as domestic wind turbines and photovoltaics.

The government has announced plans to slash red tape covering the installation of wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable technologies in the home. Under the proposals, planning permission will no longer be required for domestic renewables.

Communities secretary Ruth Kelly said: 鈥淚 believe that the local planning system should support efforts to tackle climate change rather than acting as a barrier.鈥� Local authorities will retain the right to restrict planning permission in exceptional circumstances where the benefit of the technology is outweighed by its impact on the environment. 鈥淚t is important to ensure that there are clear, commonsense safeguards on noise, siting and size and that the unique features of conservation areas are protected,鈥� said Kelly.

Responding to the consultation, Dave Sowden, chief executive of the Micropower Council said: 鈥淭he current planning system says 鈥榥o鈥� unless there is a good reason to consider otherwise. In future it will say 鈥榶es鈥� within properly considered, predefined limits. This will make a big difference to large numbers of customers wanting to take up microgeneration but put off today by bureaucracy and inconsistency.鈥�

The closing date for responses to the consultation is 27 June 2007. Visit www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1508888

鈥� The government is to charge installers around 拢1800 to register with the new UK Microgeneration Certification Scheme (UKMCS). Any developer receiving renewables grants from the government will have to use installers registered with the new scheme.

The UKMCS will replace the existing Clear Skies and Photovoltaic registration schemes from the end of April 2007. The third-party certification scheme for installers will be run by BRE Certification, operators of the ECA鈥檚 Part P assessment scheme.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor