At a time when the development of a major wind farm off the coast of North Wales is promising to create jobs in the UK's construction sector, one expert has said the planning permission process is holding the building of further sites back.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillian told the BBC that RWE Innogy's project, Gwynt y Mor - which translates as "wind in the sea" - is expected to make up to 1,000 new jobs available.
However, similar ventures may be difficult to launch as planning permission can be difficult to obtain for a "decent-sized wind farm".
Adam Bell, national campaigns coordinator at RenewableUK, commented that just 25 per cent of applications to construct turbines get approved and even then it can take a long time before building is allowed to start.
"This is possibly the biggest obstacle facing the industry in terms of its rapid development in the UK," he stated.
Written by Andrew Miles.
