Comment

Onshore wind‘less’ – a missed opportunity in the new British Energy Security Strategy

Despite the positives of the Government’s new British Energy Security Strategy (BESS) which proposes a more diversified, decarbonised and renewable-dominated energy mix, there is one rather large void… onshore wind.

Read our summary on the BESS and the proposed future energy mix here.

The BESS has been clearly influenced by the weight of Conservative MP’s in opposition to onshore wind, stepping back from previous indications of an ambition to increase deployment. This is somewhat strange when the latest BEIS public attitudes survey found that 80% of people in the UK are supportive of this technology and with the Onshore Wind Bill still passing through Parliament. Despite acknowledging the contribution which onshore wind has and can make to national energy security and decarbonisation of the economy, no fundamental changes to the current planning policies of restraint are proposed.

Instead, there is a vague commitment to consulting on developing partnerships with a small number of local communities about hosting onshore wind farms in return for lower energy bills, before the end of 2022. What form such consultation will take is unclear and it will be interesting to see how such conversations progress given than the industry has, over many years, offered a range of community benefit measures (sometimes including reduced energy bills) to entice local support with mixed results.

In directing a requirement for local community support, it remains to be seen whether supportive local authorities will introduce positive policies for onshore wind development through the Local Plan process – 300+ local authorities have now declared a climate emergency and enhancing local planning policy support for renewable energy development (including onshore wind) may form part of action plans to respond to this.

In side-stepping the onshore wind issue the Government has faced significant criticism which, in some respects, may be unfair. The delivery of onshore wind farms in England (particularly given the advancement in the size of turbines) could be extremely challenging and whilst landscape and visual impacts are often cited as the primary objection, there are a multiplicity of other constraints and environmental issues to be resolved.

It is therefore encouraging to note that Government has also confirmed an intention to look again at the opportunities for repowering of existing onshore wind farms and committed to updating planning policy for such schemes. In many ways this is a sensible and logical first step, albeit not without technical challenges.

It is disappointing however that similar commitments have not been made in respect of the extension of existing wind farms. These sites offer benefits over new locations in terms of connectivity to existing grid connections and supporting infrastructure. With many existing wind farms having been in place for 10+ years, they have largely become accepted by the local communities in which they are situated, such that public attitudes are likely to be more receptive.

In summary, onshore wind remains the pariah of the energy sector. In our view the commitment to consult communities on their willingness to host new projects in return for lower energy bills is hardly ground-breaking and unlikely to deliver at scale, whilst the commitments around repowering existing projects do not go far enough and should be expanded to include extension of existing projects.

Whilst the further deployment of onshore wind in England will inevitably need to address a number of technical and environmental challenges the industry should be given the opportunity to respond, unfortunately it feels increasingly likely that a change in Government is needed before that will ever happen.

For more information on the BESS and the UK green energy sector please contact Thomas Lord or Mark Worcester.

29 April 2022