Planning change 'will ruin ambitions for green energy'

DOMESTIC renewable energy products could face a bar from use in almost all Scottish homes, industry leaders warned last night.

A new planning law, set to be launched by the Scottish Government tomorrow, could introduce such strict rules that it would make it impossible for wind turbines and other energy products to be used in homes in Scotland.

Trade body the Scottish Renewables Forum said that if the law goes ahead in its current form, then Scotland would damage its prospects of becoming one of the world's leading countries in producing renewable energy sources for home use and lose the thousands of the jobs associated with it.

The new law says that homes in which the owners want to install a micro wind turbine or an air source heat pump, which absorbs heat from outside to warm up buildings, would have to be at least 100 metres from its nearest neighbour because of the noise they make. This would rule out all urban residential areas and a large number of rural homes.

Jason Ormiston, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, has met MSPs, including planning minister Stewart Stevenson, to urge them to drop the draconian measures.

He is suggesting the renewables industry address the issue of noise to ensure products are no louder than standing one metre away from a fridge.

Ormiston told ministers: "The effect of the proposals will be to restrict these products to very few residences, excluding all towns and cities, to cause substantial damage to a world-leading Scottish micro wind turbine manufacturing industry, and to jeopardise the creation of hundreds, if not thousands, of Scottish jobs."