Plans to install wind turbines at Portsmouth International Port are delayed

Plans to install the turbines were revealed in 2019 but city council planners said there were ‘significant gaps’ in the information provided while the council’s former leader said the de facto national ban on onshore facilities had exacerbated these problems.

The applications were withdrawn at the end of June but a spokesman for the council-owned port said replacement proposals would be submitted in the coming months to take account for improved technology.

‘Since we put in our original planning applications, time has moved on and so has wind turbine technology,’ they said. ‘We also now have on-site energy storage, which means any turbines we install will need to be in different locations than originally planned. This is so we can save the power generated and use it when needed.

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‘We’ll be working closely with the planning department at Portsmouth City Council to submit a renewed application for installing small wind turbines in the coming months.’

The project was a key part of the port’s aim to have net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and be emission free by 2050.

The two applications proposed the erection of 25 small-scale and nine 38.5m turbines and were part of a £10m bid which also included the installation of solar panels and shore power for visiting ships. Shore-side power for ships is seen as key to improving air quality in the city as it means ships do not need to burn fuel to run their engines while alongside in Portsmouth to generate power.

Port director, Mike Sellers, said the project would bring ‘significant’ benefits to the city and could inspire similar work at other ports across the country.

Decisions on the applications were due to be made by September 2020 under the initial deadline but several delays were agreed to allow new information to be considered.

This included concerns raised by Natural England in July 2021 that not enough had been to assess the ‘likely significant effect’ the turbines would have on the Portsmouth Harbour designated special protection area.