Member

The Government have recently updated their guidance on providing financial benefits for new onshore wind developments, setting out best practice approaches to ensure that developments have a lasting positive impact on communities. The guidance includes models from different types of community benefits and schemes and sets an expectation that developers should provide community benefits of £5,000 per megawatt per year for the operational lifetime of the project. This means that a community living near a 25-megawatt wind farm could receive up to £125,000 per year to spend on local initiatives. I hope that the noble Earl, Lord Russell, is reassured that the Government support the overall intentions and are developing similar proposals, and that he will not move his amendment.