The amount of clean, homegrown energy from onshore wind is set to accelerate over the second half of the decade as the government launches its first ever Onshore Wind Strategy.
Thousands of new jobs for British people in onshore wind, such as engineering, construction, and operations maintenance, could be created by 2030 to build the onshore wind needed to deliver clean power.
After facing a de-facto 9-year ban in England, today’s Strategy sets out over 40 radical actions to get onshore wind building again across the UK. This includes:
- Unlocking up to 10GW of onshore wind by resolving issues with how onshore wind turbines and aerospace civil and defence infrastructure co-exist.
- Repowering of old turbines across the country, so we can maintain our current fleet and keep powering the country with clean, secure, homegrown power.
- Equipping planners and developers with the tools needed for the first English projects since we lifted the de facto ban last year. This includes making sure planning decisions are based on up-to-date information and ensuring site surveying and assessments for projects are more efficient to speed up decision-making.
- Exploring plans to expand the clean industry bonus for onshore wind, encouraging developers to invest in supply chains in the UK’s industrial heartlands, or in cleaner supply chains.
Delivering this Strategy could more than double the current onshore wind workforce, supporting up to 45,000 skilled jobs across the country by 2030, as the government pursues its clean power ambition of 27-29GW of onshore wind by 2030.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said, “Rolling out more onshore wind is a no-brainer – it’s one of our cheapest technologies, quick to build, supports thousands of skilled jobs and can provide clean energy directly to the communities hosting it.
“After years of decline, we’re giving industry the tools to get building again, backing industrial renewal and secure, clean, homegrown energy through our Plan for Change.”
Co-chair of the Onshore Wind Taskforce and CEO of EDF Power Solutions UK and Ireland, Matthieu Hue said, “This Strategy is focusing on overcoming barriers and challenges we face across the industry in the deployment of onshore wind while capturing the major socio-economic benefits it can bring to the environment and to local economies.
“Together we are forging a path forward for onshore wind in Great Britain, and we are committed to ensuring a successful implementation through a new Onshore Wind Council, which will oversee the execution of the strategy. This is a critical part of making Britain a clean energy superpower and delivering energy security.”
Communities are set to benefit too with the voluntary community benefits guidance for onshore wind for England being updated to provide communities with £5,000 per megawatt per year for community initiatives, such as new football pitches or libraries, or even bill discount schemes.
By delivering the upper Clean Power 2030 ambition of 29GW of onshore wind, it’s estimated that an additional £70 million of community funding will be unlocked for rural towns and villages every year.
RenewableUK’s Head of Onshore Wind Delivery, James Robottom, said, “Overturning the unpopular onshore wind ban, which deprived us of one of the quickest and cheapest technologies to build for a decade, was just the start. The hard work to make the most of this great opportunity to grow our economy and strengthen the UK’s energy security is now in full swing.
“The measures outlined will increase confidence among investors and developers, so that we can attract billions in private investment and create thousands of highly-skilled jobs and new supply chains all over the country. The strategy also sets out how people living near onshore wind farms will continue to see tailor-made community benefits through an updated Community Benefit Protocol for England, deciding for themselves the form that these benefits should take, to support and improve the lives of those in areas hosting onshore wind”.
