Environment alliance launches a campaign for a smart grid - not thousands more pylons

25 March 2009

Issued on behalf of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, Campaign for National Parks and National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

CPRE in alliance with three other leading countryside campaign groups [1] launch a campaign today for major investment in smart electricity networks to avoid intrusive new infrastructure. The campaign aims to influence the Government’s promised vision for a ‘smart grid’ and a new national planning policy on the future of the nation’s electricity transmission network [2].

There are already 22,000 high voltage pylons carrying 4,375 miles of overhead transmission lines in England and Wales. The alliance is deeply concerned that plans outlined in a major recent Government-backed report [3] indicate that there could be many more pylons. These would aim to serve a new generation of power stations, and extend across some of our most valued countryside.

This is the immediate reaction of Bill Bryson, CPRE’s President:
‘This year we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A great birthday present would be to begin to remove the high voltage pylons that are within them or can be seen from them. Instead, National Grid [4] are planning to put up yet more overhead lines in these areas. This is crazy – more pylons do not equal progress.’

Research indicates:

at least twelve new lines of overhead pylons, altogether stretching over at least 170 miles of countryside, are being considered across England and Wales, and three existing lines could see larger pylons;
new lines could march across the Snowdonia National Park and four designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in Anglesey, Kent, Lincolnshire and Somerset; and
Green Belt land – the countryside closest to our major towns and cities – could be affected by new or larger lines of pylons in Derbyshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Somerset and South Yorkshire [5].

The alliance members believe that as well as making much better use of the electricity we generate, a new smart grid for England and Wales, to parallel President Obama’s plans in the USA, should have much less impact on our valued countryside.

The alliance’s manifesto A Countryside Friendly Smart Grid [6] is calling for:

any new high voltage transmission lines to avoid AONBs, National Parks, World Heritage Sites and Green Belt land;
the use of innovative new pylon designs, up to 33% shorter than for a typical high voltage pylon in the UK, in locations where high voltage transmission lines already affect our most important countryside or where new lines are unavoidable;
measures to reduce demand on the main electricity transmission grid, such as ‘smart meters’, encouragement for community and small-scale local energy generation, and further research on methods of storage of electricity; and
new offshore wind farms to be connected to the National Grid using underground cables to existing substations. The impact of substations on the countryside, including associated clutter and light pollution, should also be reduced as they are renewed or redeveloped.

Paul Miner, CPRE’s Senior Planning Campaigner, said:
‘We support the idea of a truly ‘smart grid’ – meaning both energy efficient and countryside friendly. We urge National Grid to drop proposals for new overhead lines in our most valued areas of countryside. We also want to see Government and industry doing more to reduce the impact of existing high voltage lines and other transmission infrastructure on the landscape.’

Ruth Chambers, Acting Chief Executive of CNP, said:
‘The potential impacts of new transmission infrastructure must be taken into account when investment and planning decisions are made on new generating capacity. Otherwise, we risk generating power in places which leave little choice but to build in our protected landscapes. The feasibility of alternatives to new overhead lines must also be fully considered by decision makers.’

Peter Ogden, Director of CPRW, said:
‘Nothing scars our landscapes more than huge electricity transmission lines marching across them. Developing the smart grid approach offers the long overdue opportunity to link modern methods of energy creation and transmission, with avoiding damage to distinctive upland panoramas and open spaces. We therefore urge Government and the National Grid to think responsibly and not to once more burden our cherished landscapes with large pylons.’

Mike Taylor, Chief Executive of NAAONB, said:
‘We recognise that the need to generate more electricity from renewable energy will require a major re-think of the National Grid. There is real danger however that the impact of the means of delivery to where the energy is needed will be overlooked. This poses a real threat to some of our most important countryside.’

Notes for editors

The alliance consists of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW), Campaign for National Parks (CNP) and National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (NAAONB).

Copies of CPRE’s map: Power connection: at what cost to the landscape? are available on request from the press office on 020 7981 2880 or downloadable from CPRE’s media centre: www.cpre.org.uk/news/media-centre (login – all lower case: user name; media, password: journalist).

The accompanying briefing, A Countryside Friendly Smart Grid, available from CPRE’s media centre: www.cpre.org.uk/news/media-centre (login – all lower case: user name; media, password: journalist).

1. CPRE is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk

CPRW is a charity which works throughout Wales to protect and enhance the landscapes and quality of life in rural areas. Since 1928, we have worked to increase awareness of the value and benefits of all landscapes and to encourage individuals to protect and become the stewards of their ‘local’ surroundings. President Glyn Davies, Patron Bryn Terfel www.cprw.org.uk

The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) is the national charity that campaigns to protect and promote National Parks for the benefit and quiet enjoyment of all. CNP is the only national, voluntary sector organisation dedicated to National Parks. CNP is an umbrella of nearly 40 environmental and amenity organisations across England and Wales. CNP aims to give the voluntary sector a shared vision and voice on all National Park issues. www.cnp.org.uk

The National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (NAAONB) was formed in 1998 as an independent organisation to act on behalf of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England and Wales. Its membership is largely composed of representatives from local authorities whose boundaries include AONBs and who are concerned to improve their management and funding arrangements. The Association is administered by a Management Board and holds an Annual Conference, which provides an opportunity for those working in AONBs to join together and address issues of current concern. www.aonb.org.uk

2. In an interview with The Guardian on 6 March 2009 Ed Miliband MP, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, advocated the idea of a ‘smart grid’ and promised that he would issue a vision for a smart grid ‘in the coming weeks’. There will also be opportunities for the public to debate the need for, and design of, the new lines proposed by National Grid in the Government’s new National Policy Statement (NPS) on electricity transmission, expected in June 2009. There will also be inquiries held into specific projects. Assuming that these follow new procedures for considering applications for high voltage electric lines set out in the Planning Act 2008, rights of the public to participate in inquiries into specific projects will be more restricted than under present procedures. For example, there will be no scope to question the policies set out in the final NPS.

3. See Electricity Networks Strategy Group, Our Electricity Transmission Network: A Vision for 2020, March 2009. The Group has a cross industry membership and is jointly chaired by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Office of Gas and Electricity Regulatory Markets (Ofgem).

4. National Grid is the international electricity and gas company that owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales and operates the system across Great Britain.

5. This information is set out in more detail in the alliance’s briefing A Countryside Friendly Smart Grid. National Grid’s broad ‘areas of search’ for new high voltage overhead lines, and the likely new electricity generation stations to which the proposed new lines relate, are set out in the accompanying map – see CPRE’s media centre: www.cpre.org.uk/news/media-centre (login – all lower case: user name; media, password: journalist). The information is taken from a recently (December 2008) issued document by National Grid, National Grid Input into UK Offshore Energy SEA: Impact on Onshore Electricity Transmission System, accessed at www.offshore-sea.org.uk/site/scripts/consultation_download_info.php?downloadID=238 on 19 February 2009. The development strategy advocated by National Grid is broadly endorsed by a March 2009 report issued by the Electricity Networks Strategy Group, a cross industry group jointly chaired by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).

6. See the alliance’s briefing A Countryside Friendly Smart Grid. The ‘smart grid’ idea embodies radical reform to the electricity grid we currently have, through making the best use of energy and other resources, and addressing problems caused by current methods of long distance transmission. England and Wales are both densely populated countries. We believe that ‘smart’ should therefore also mean that the grid develops in a way that respects the valuable resources of our designated landscapes and Green Belts, as well as avoiding visual intrusion to our towns and cities.

For press queries please contact:
Ruth Chambers, Head of Policy on
020 7924 4077 ext. 222