Decommissioning Bond
Various organisations have been asked to raise the issue of a decommissioning bond for the Scout Moor Wind Farm Expansion Ltd (SMWFEL) application. If the Secretary of State (SoS) is minded to approve this application, then the basic idea of a bond is to ensure there is sufficient money available at the end the wind farms life, to ensure the site can be returned to its ‘pre’ wind farm condition. Currently there is no requirement for onshore wind farm developers to put a bond in place and we are asking for the SoS to consider putting a condition in place requiring a bond that tracks inflation and can not disappear when the wind farm becomes redundant. This issue is bigger than just SMWFEL and perhaps a decommissioning bond should be a requirement for all future developments of this type.
If a decommissioning bond is something you agree with, you can help to make a difference by raising this issue with your MP and local Councillors.