Today in Parliament David Davis MP proposed a bill to force wind farm operators, to ensure that have sufficient capital to cover potential liabilities. Legislation aimed at stopping them claiming that they are broke and getting away with it.
David Davis MP used the 10 minute rule to introduce a Private Members Bill, to propose legislation to prevent wind farm firms from avoiding their responsibilities. Mr Davis explained that these wind farm operators, that can be valued in the billions, use shell organisations to build and operate these sites, while ensuing that these shells have greater liabilities than assets, effectively broke. This can prevent, for instance, a local resident from winning damages for health problems from infrasound or flicker. This legislation may also require a Bond to cover the costs of decommissioning.
Private members bills do not always become legislation, they may be used to encourage the government to amend existing legislation. It is remarkable however, that these details are not already included.
Video of the 10 minute rule speech. Text of this speech may be available at a later date.
(h/t to @Geomacl for the link)
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
“It is remarkable however, that these details are not already included.”
Especially when the government has 5000 lawyers on its payroll! You could be forgiven for thinking that it was deliberate…
“Mr Davis explained that these wind farm operators, that can be valued in the billions, use shell organisations to build and operate these sites, while ensuing that these shells have greater liabilities than assets, effectively broke.”
Hopefully the proposed bill will also ensure that the shell organisations + parent companies honour their obligations to dismantle and remove the windmills at the end of their useful life; and, reinstate the ground accordingly.
It’s unsurprising that, yet again, the big banks win no matter what.
In the beginning, loans were taken out to fund construction which would never happen if government subsidies for the wind power had not been enacted. Never mind whether it delivers power competitively, just make the debts happen.
Now a new regulation will force the operators to take out insurance policies they would not have if the government’s mandatory liability cover regulation is not passed. Never mind whether these unnecessary wing-slicer eyesores should be removed completely, just make the debts happen.
Crony capitalism is alive and well in the UK, with the principal occupants of The City of London being the biggest beneficiaries of all of this lobbying.
The green lobby was used by the banks, now the conservatives like Mr Davis are being used by the banks. One political side played off against the other while the true “masters of the universe” rake in everyone’s chips from the gambling table and recline in luxurious seclusion.
Nice job if you can get it.
“If 20 years is a wind turbine’s life span,
What happens then? Is there a plan?
Thousands of turbines will then need replacing,
A new energy crisis we will be facing….”
http://rhymeafterrhyme.net/when-the-turbines-are-slowing-in-the-wind/
#1 This is not the @DavidTCDavies MP for Monmouth. who has spoke up well against Climate Madness in parliament recently
It is David Davis MP for Haltemprice and Howden.
#2 ***** you’d think that there would be some kind of unfair contract law against that kind of trick. We know that in considering projects you have to consider the full life cycle : the construction CO2 and end of life site clean up CO2, so yes builders should not be able to take the profits and then go bankrupt before decommissioning and site clean up.
I seem to remember that
Celtic Energy mine group in Wales recently won a court case where they structured bis to avoid clean up costs
” two successive judges decided the defendants had not acted illegally and the case didn’t even get to trial.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/fraud-case-against-former-cardiff-8114492
The Transcript is now in Hansard
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150721/debtext/150721-0001.htm#15072125000003
– You have to wait for the entire page to load then it should go to the Wind paragraph.
– You might have to click the address bar again