Queen's £38m a year windfarm windfall

Sun Oct 24 21:39:59 BST 2010

Then it is time to call a halt.
The Queen,  is 81 plus, - the same age as Queen Victoria at the time of her death.
The prospect of any successor  - of a monarchy in a democracy is ...........................words fail me, actions beckon.
A campaign to highlight the idiocy of the monarchy and the  harm that monarchy does to people- as the foundation of the  land monopoly and the  housebuilding monopoly which is derived from it- such a campaign would be effective in bringing the land monopoly to peole's attention. 
Focussing on this windfarm windfall issue  and the additional cost to peoples' energy bills, gives a positive cast to republicanism. 
Its not opposing monarchy for ideological reasons. 
We should give thought so that Her sudden death and the dire consequences  doesn't take us by surprise.
We could start with  arrangements for the simuiltanteous coronation of the Green Man. Also  arranging  a bigger shout of the peole's non acclamation than the put up yes job which took place in Westminster Abbey in 1953.
Any other suggestions? 

James     

ggers350 at yahoogroups.com
From: tony at cultureshop.org.uk
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:55:07 +0100
Subject: [Diggers350] Queen's £38m a year windfarm windfall

      How much the European Monarchies cost:

- Great Britain £68m

- Holland £33.8m

- Norway £23.9m

- Belgium £11.7m

- Denmark £10.5m

- Sweden £10.2m

- Spain £7.4m

- Luxembourg £7.2m

Queen's £38m a year windfarm windfall

Wind farms: Set to make Royal family £38m a year

By Martin Delgado and Christopher Leake - 24 October 2010, 11:28am

The Royal Family have secured a lucrative deal 

that will earn them tens of millions of pounds 

from the massive expansion of offshore windfarms.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=517059&in_page_id=2&position=moretopstories

They will net up to £37.5m extra income every 

year from the drive for green energy because the 

seabed within Britain's territorial waters is owned by the Crown Estate.

Under new measures announced by Chancellor George 

Osborne last week, the Royals will soon get 15% 

of the profits from the Estate's £6bn property 

portfolio, rather than the existing Civil List arrangement.

Experts predict the growth in offshore windfarms 

could be worth up to £250m a year to the Crown Estate.

There are already 436 turbines in operation 

around the UK's 7,700-mile coastline – but within 

a decade that number is set to reach nearly 7,000.

Prince Charles is a vociferous campaigner for 

renewable energy sources such as these, but is 

opposed to turbines being erected on land – particularly near his own homes.

He has described windfarms as a 'horrendous blot 

on the landscape' and has refused to have any 

built at his Highgrove home or on the Duchy of 

Cornwall estate. But he has expressed enthusiasm for siting them offshore.

The Crown Estate said profits from windfarms in 

Britain's territorial waters – which extend 

almost 14 miles from the coast – could rise to 

£100m a year, giving the Royals £15m.

But industry experts said this was an 

under-estimate and that the true figure was 

likely to be nearer £250m by 2020, with £37.5m for the Royals.

They currently receive about £30m a year from the 

Civil List and other grants – a figure that will 

be frozen until 2012 when it will be replaced by 

the new mechanism, called the Sovereign Support Grant.

The level was calculated based on the Crown 

Estate's current annual profit of £211m – 15% of 

which would be in line with current income. But 

if the experts are correct about windfarm 

returns, the Monarchy's budget would more than double, to around £68m.

The canny boost to Royal finances was quietly 

slipped through as part of last week's Comprehensive Spending Review.

In what one source described last night as a 

'masterstroke' by the Prince's closest adviser 

Sir Michael Peat, 250 years of history was 

overturned by scrapping the arrangement under 

which taxpayers' money has been used to fund the 

Royals and pay for the upkeep of their palaces.

The Civil List – which has financed the Monarchy 

since King George III surrendered all revenues 

from the Crown Estate after running up massive 

debts – meant the Royal finances were accountable 

to Parliament, but the Sovereign Support Grant will avoid such scrutiny.

Old Etonian accountant Sir Michael, 60, Charles's 

Principal Private Secretary, is the former Keeper 

of the Privy Purse at Buckingham Palace. He is 

the great-grandson of the founder of accountancy firm Peat Marwick.

'There is nothing Michael does not know about 

Royal finances,' said a source. 'His depth of 

knowledge will have been invaluable. Charles has 

always believed the money from the Crown Estate 

was taken away from the family. Now they have got 

it back. One could say they have pulled a fast one.'

Last month, the Prince visited an exhibition in 

Wales about offshore energy. David Jones, of 

Marine Energy Pembrokeshire, said the Prince had 

asked a number of questions about wind-driven technology.

'Charles seemed enthused about the potential for 

marine energy in Pembrokeshire. He asked about 

how the devices worked, where they would be 

deployed and whether there was public and governmental support.'

By 2020, 6,400 turbines – each one rising 500ft 

above the sea – are expected to be in operation 

around the UK coastline. Household energy bills 

will have to rise to pay for the £75 billion 

expansion, which has been described as one of the 

biggest engineering projects in recent history.

The EU has told Britain it must generate more of 

its energy needs from renewable sources. But 

critics say the plan to increase Britain's 

dependence on green energy is flawed and could 

leave homes and business suffering routine power cuts within five years.

Sir Martin Holdgate, former chief scientist at 

the Department for the Environment, said: 'There 

is pressure to act on climate change. But when 

you look at the cost per unit, it is a rather 

expensive way of providing electricity.'

In its latest accounts, the Crown Estate says 

that its offshore windfarm business is 

'experiencing exponential growth and we expect it 

to provide a significant source of total income in the next ten years'.

Revenue to the Estate from the windfarms rose by 

44% last year to a 'low base' of £2.6m.

But with the third round of contracts handed out 

in January, companies bidding for the work say a bonanza is on the horizon.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in 

_article_id=517059&in_page_id=2&position=moretopstories

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