Prince William could overturn king’s wind farm ban as he orders renewable energy review for estate | Duchy of Cornwall

His father believes wind farms are a blight on the landscape, once saying he feared Britain would end up like Denmark “down to its knees in these bloody things”. But now Prince William is considering overturning their effective ban on royal land.

The Prince of Wales has ordered a major overhaul of renewable energy on his 130,000-acre estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, which is expected to change the face of his hereditary property empire spanning 20 English counties.

William, 42, is looking to introduce large-scale solar panel farms, geothermal energy extracted from beneath the Earth’s surface and biomass from decaying organic matter alongside onshore wind turbines to increase renewable energy production and to help the duchy achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2032. .

Duchy council, the prince’s council, which is chaired by William, is expected to consider a study – described as a significant piece of work – into large-scale renewable energy later this year, and sources have made it clear that putting wind farms in the duchy . the terrain is to be considered.

Alastair Martin, secretary and keeper of records at the duchy, explained that he had to act after seeing the effects of climate change on the grounds of the estate. “Our farmers have seen a significant increase in extreme weather conditions. Our maritime domain has seen an increase in sea temperature. And the impact of prolonged drought on crops is a real problem,” he said, expressing concern about the limits of water supply for farmers. “This is a big concern, which is why we’ve invested to support our tenants to reduce emissions and set our net zero target for the end of 2032.”

William’s plans promise to match the government’s efforts to expand onshore and offshore wind power. They were supported last week by a tie-up between the Crown Estate, nominally owned by the king, and the new publicly owned company Great British Energy.

Despite his opposition to onshore wind, the king also backs offshore turbines and will see his official income rise by 53% to £132m in 2025-26 as the sovereign grant is compared with annual profits in the country’s booming £1.1bn. The Crown Estate, which owns the seabed up to 12 nautical miles from the mainland.

William, 25 years old^th Duke of Cornwall, shares his father’s passion for renewable energy but also for preserving the most beautiful landscapes in the duchy, which meant that the king when he was Prince of Wales blocked any attempt to build wind turbines on his land. A project in the Isles of Scilly was given little attention by Charles about a decade ago, for example, and the duchy’s largest land holding is in Dartmoor National Park in Devon, where there would be strong opposition. “The problem with the Duchy of Cornwall property is that it happens to be in some of the most beautiful parts of south-west England in particular and there are always aesthetic considerations,” Martin said. “And I’m sure they won’t disappear because we have a new duke.”

But even before the government lifted the Conservatives’ de facto ban on new onshore wind farms and announced plans to double the UK’s capacity by 2030, duchy officials reassessed their approach after the king acceded to the throne in September 2022 and William took over. They are understood to have promised that if they can find a way to support the turbines, they will.

In its annual report, published last week, the duchy, which was created in 1337 to provide an income to the heir to the throne and paid William £23.6m last year, said: “There is great theoretical potential for generating and renewable energy storage in our domain, particularly in the context of our development sites and retained buildings.”

However, one form of green energy it won’t be supporting so closely is the country’s first large-scale anaerobic digester and on-grid biomethane plant at Poundbury in Dorset, which turns crops into gas and electricity.

The plant, run by JV Energen, was long supported by Charles and under him the duchy became the majority shareholder. But the dukedom’s annual report reveals that William sold his stake in the firm for £13.6m in February this year.

It was sold just over a year later guardian revealed that JV Energen had been investigated for numerous health and safety breaches following the unauthorized release of more than 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Ducat officials insisted the plant was very successful and suggested it was sold because it was time for someone with broader operational experience to develop it. A spokeswoman said: “We continue to investigate opportunities to generate and store renewable energy across the property.”