Wind farm plans in doubt after investor cuts programme

The world's biggest investor in wind power is scaling back its programme in Britain, threatening to scupper plans to build hundreds of new wind turbines.

By Murray Wardrop Last Updated: 6:14AM GMT 26 Mar 2009

The news is the latest blow to Gordon Brown's target of generating 35 per cent of Britain's electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Photo: John Taylor
Iberdrola Renewables will cut its British investment by more than 40 per cent, it was reported.
The £300 million withdrawal could have paid for a wind farm capable of powering 200,000 homes.

The news is the latest blow to Gordon Brown's target of generating 35 per cent of Britain's electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Iberdrola Renewables' chief executive, Xabier Viteri, whose Spanish parent owns ScottishPower, blamed the economic crisis for the cutback, The Times reoprted.
It came a day after Ed Miliband, the Climate Change Minister, angered rural campaigners by saying opposition to wind farms is as socially unacceptable as failing to stop at a zebra crossing.
His comments were made at the screening of a new climate change documentary, The Age Of Stupid, in London.
He said: "The Government needs to be saying, 'It is socially unacceptable to be against wind turbines in your area – like not wearing your seat belt or driving past a zebra crossing'.''
His comments came as a report by a coalition of countryside campaigners said the expansion of wind farms threatened some of Britain's most scenic countryside.
However, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds this week called for a vast increase in the number of wind farms in the UK after a study found far more could be built without damaging wildlife.
About 7,000 new wind turbines have been planned for Britain over the next 12 years in an attempt to meet Europe's targets on greenhouse gas emissions.