Clause 94 - Consents for generating stations offshore
Energy Bill [Lords]
9:30 am
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness), Department of Trade and Industry; East Ham, Labour)
As the hon. Member for Tewkesbury says, I am familiar with the criticism that the Government are obsessed with onshore wind farms, but the hon. Lady accused us in last week's sitting of being preoccupied with offshore wind farms. There is a constant tendency to say, ''What is happening at present in renewable energy is not what we want, but there is something else in the future.'' When we get to that something else, it turns out that there is a problem with that, too. The reality is that we must square up to how we can manage these impacts, and so benefit from renewable energy, as the Bill proposes.
As to amendment No. 170, the necessary safeguards to minimise the risk of an offshore wind farm to navigation are already in place.