News, Politics

Former council leader wants wind turbines to be built in Nottingham

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

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The former leader of Nottingham City Council says he wants wind turbines to be built in the city as part of a push for more renewable energy projects.

Cllr David Mellen (Lab), who was council leader for five years until 2024, says wind turbines in the city would be an “ambitious” step towards becoming carbon neutral.

The Labour-led authority says it is still standing by its stated goal to both become a carbon neutral council and city by 2028.

Sally Longford, the former deputy leader who was in charge of the environment portfolio, first made the pledge back in 2019, and the city has been working to the goal ever since.

To become carbon neutral, the exact amount of harmful carbon dioxide (C02) released into the atmosphere must be balanced through absorption or removal.

In documents published for a Communities and Environment Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday (March 5), the council says it will be looking to “scale up local renewable energy projects” as a key priority.

This includes conducting a wind-energy study.

“It says in the documents you are down a wind energy feasibility study,” Cllr Mellen said.

“I think I have talked before that I am very keen to have wind turbines in the city.

“Derby can do it, why can’t we?”

Jorge Santana, Head of Carbon Reduction Projects and Policy, said the authority was “a little bit behind on wind”.

Cllr Mellen recommended the authority look further into wind turbines in future.

Nottingham’s pledge comes as the UK Government is aiming to become ‘net zero’ by 2050, which means the country will no longer add to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

While carbon neutrality focuses on CO2, net zero includes both CO2 and other gasses, including methane.

The targets are seen as a crucial to halt and reverse harmful climate change worldwide.

The council formally declared a climate and ecological emergency back in 2019, when it made the pledge, and a 251-point document was published as a guide for how the city could achieve the goal.

However, in the years since the city’s businesses and residents have battled the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis, while the council declared itself effectively bankrupt in November 2023 amid serious financial troubles.

Documents show an external recommendation suggests the council prioritises becoming carbon neutral before the city does by setting phased goals.

This recommendation says the city should aim to become carbon neutral “by 2040+”, while the council should still aim for 2028.

Cllr Sam Lux (Lab), the council’s executive member for carbon reduction, leisure and culture, said this was an external recommendation and does not reflect the council’s own policy.

“We are very much standing by our ambitions to be a carbon neutral city by 2028,” she added.

“We are really looking to focus on the part the council can play in de-carbonising its own assets, given that although we do hope to encourage and influence organisations that make up emissions, that is not actually in our gift, so we need to focus on what we can control.”

The council has reduced its own emissions by more than three quarters, around 77 per cent, while the city itself has only reduced emissions by 46.6 per cent since 2005.