The British Wind Energy Association held its 30th Anniversary conference last week – at the Excel Centre in Docklands. Two and a half thousand people taking part over three days. Huge exhibition. Gordon Brown did a video message, Nick Clegg a star turn. Outside, stock markets were plunging and pundits were reaching for ever more apocalyptic heights of rhetoric. Inside, an industry that has truly come of age was quietly flexing it muscles, gearing up to what will be the most astonishing growth period in energy markets since the erstwhile “dash for gas” in the 80s.

A few doubters were in attendance, including some of the NIMBY NGOs which have ensured a far slower roll out for on shore wind farms than would otherwise have been the case. Theirs is an amazing record: literally dozens of planning committees the length and breadth of the land brow beaten and befuddled by often outrageous mis-information and outright scaremongering. They’re still hard at it whenever they get the chance: since January 2006, only 54% of 167 on shore wind farm applications have been consented at the local level. A further 12% were eventually consented at appeal.

This remains a serious problem. With that EU target of 15% of all our energy needing to come from renewables by 2020 now staring policy makers in the face, the race is on for a massive expansion of both on shore and off shore wind. The reality is that wind energy will have contribute the lion’s share of that target, given relative immaturity of most of the other potential renewable technologies, and some of the difficulties associated with renewables in the heat and transport sectors.

In that regard, 2008 has been a good year, with more than 40 projects consented to date, totalling a record of nearly 2000 Megawatts. And three big off shore approvals have also been secured.

Whatever the anti-wind brigade may say, public support for on shore wind remains consistently high (at around 80%), with some of the strongest support coming from those living closest to operating wind farms. Support for off shore wind is even higher.

The BWEA has just published a very useful “State of the Industry” report (www.bwea.com), with all sorts of recommendations as to how the government should now get today’s planning blockages sorted out. But it would help no end if some of our leading “environmental organisations” in the UK finally got to grips with the pressing realities of climate change, and renounced their NIMBY nonsense.

To read more from Jonathan Porritt's blog, visit www.jonathonporritt.com