ONSHORE WIND
Unblocking our cheapest form of renewable energy
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The Problem
The UK’s cheapest source of energy generation is being blocked because the government has placed a moratorium on new onshore wind projects in England.
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The Solution
Planning regulations need to be changed to remove the onshore wind moratorium in England, so that local communities and their economies can benefit from new onshore wind projects.
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The Campaign
We organised an open, cross-party letter from MPs to the government calling for the changes needed. The block on state financing was removed in March 2020, but the planning block remains.
Wind energy is the cheapest renewable energy technology and is very popular.
The Government is finally listening.
We are not meeting our climate change targets – the UK is way off track to meet the fourth and fifth carbon emissions budgets of the Climate Change Act. Onshore wind energy developments are an essential part of solving this problem.
Happily, onshore wind developments are now the cheapest form of new energy and the UK is the windiest country in Europe. It is also overwhelmingly popular: Government statistics show that 76% of people now support onshore wind – ten times the proportion opposed. In addition to this, two thirds of people are supportive of turbines within five miles of their home.
But the Government is still not doing all it can to enable this cheap, popular and abundant renewable energy source.
Blocked by planning rules
In 2015 the government changed the planning rules (the rules governing new or changes to existing buildings or structures in a local area). The change was subtle but the result powerful: an effective moratorium on any new onshore wind developments in England. This is because it created the possibility that, if a very small number of local people, or even one single local person, objected to a proposed onshore wind development then the proposal would be rejected.
Until recently, onshore wind energy was also blocked from competing for the state financing system called Contracts for Difference. These contracts are bid for by low-carbon and renewable energy generators and they effectively give those energy generators a fixed purchase price for their energy. When the market price is below this fixed price, the government makes top up payments to those energy generators and when the market price is above this fixed price, the government receives the difference in payments.
This state financing system works well because it significantly helps to make proposed low-carbon and renewable energy developments financially viable.
The Government publishes an energy security statement featuring onshore wind.
In 2022, the government committed to publishing a consultation to support local communities with onshore wind. This report was published in April of 2023.
The government currently claims that it supports local communities supporting onshore wind, but the barriers to the current planning regulations are still in place. They plan to consult on local partnerships with communities in favour of hosting onshore wind infrastructure in return for benefits, including lower energy bills.
Despite the current climate and energy crisis, this is not a big enough step for the government to take.
Removing the block
To remove the planning block, the planning rules need to be changed so that applications for onshore wind developments in England are treated in the same way as any other application for renewable and low carbon energy.
Concerns over where new turbines are proposed should be addressed through local democratic decision making. Applications for new wind turbines should face a fair and reasonable local planning process and be treated in the same way as other renewable or low-carbon energy.
Image courtesy of Jevanto
The Campaign
In 2019 we worked with climate charity Possible to mobilise cross-party support for onshore wind. 164 MPs signed a letter that we drafted and sent to the Prime Minister. Since then, the Government has made one of the two changes we called for: granting onshore wind installations access to their Contracts for Difference Scheme. Contracts for Difference operate similar to loans and help make new onshore wind developments financially viable.
However, for onshore wind to be given the same opportunity to thrive as any other forms of renewable or low carbon energy, the planning rules need to be amended. At the moment these planning rules mean that turbines can only be built on land predesignated by the local council and since the law was introduced in 2015, there has been a sharp decline in new projects.
The Latest: In December 2022, the Government agreed to consult on changing these rules. We await the conclusion of that work.
Access to Energy Market Auctions - Success!
Onshore wind is now allowed to compete in Contracts for Difference electricity market auctions. These have been described as subsidies but they are more like loans that help make new onshore wind developments financially viable.
Amendments to Planning Rules
The planning rules need to be amended so that applications for smaller-scale* onshore wind developments in England are treated in the same way as any other application for renewable and low carbon energy.
A cross-party group of 164 MPs signed the open letter in the last Parliament. Many more MPs signatures are needed in order to persuade the government to make the changes that Power for People is calling for – we need your help.
Image courtesy of steve p2008
A cross-party group of
164 MPs
supported the Onshore Wind campaign in the last Parliament
The full list of MPs can be found on our support page. Please sign up to support our campaigns.