Zero onshore wind plans submitted in England since de facto ban was ‘lifted’


Helena Horton Environment reporter
Wed, 27 December 2023 

Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

No new plans for onshore wind have been accepted in England since the government claimed it had “lifted” the de facto ban, new analysis reveals.

Renewable energy organisations warned at the time that this was likely. Despite the levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, having changed planning rules introduced in 2015 by the then prime minister, David Cameron, to stop onshore wind projects being blocked by a single objection, they still face higher barriers than every other form of infrastructure, including waste incinerators.

Analysis of the government’s renewable energy planning database shows that no applications for new onshore wind projects have been submitted since the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, claimed that the government would overturn the onshore wind ban in September 2023.

At the time, the National Infrastructure Commission advised the government to go further and restore onshore wind to the government’s Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects process, which would encourage more applications.

The government rejected this recommendation and said the measures announced in September were enough.

Analysis by Carbon Brief estimates that if onshore wind had continued to be built at the same rate it was in 2017 – before the ban started to come into effect – 7GW of onshore wind would have been built. This would have knocked £5.1bn off energy bills, or £182 for each UK household, in the year from July 2022 to June 2023.

Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said: “As predicted, the government’s futile planning tweaks amounted to absolutely nothing and the de facto ban is still well and truly in place. Why would a developer risk putting their cash behind a project that remains beholden to woolly guidelines and the unworkable decisions made by some local councils?

“Onshore wind is the cheapest, quickest and greenest way to produce energy. Ramping up production would lower energy bills, slash emissions and bolster the UK’s energy security. We should be building them everywhere it makes sense to generate. But as things stand, you’ve got more chance of spotting a flying pig than a new onshore windfarm in the UK.”

Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, said a Labour government would end the effective ban on onshore wind.

“Every household in Britain is paying higher energy bills because of Rishi Sunak’s staggering failure to end the onshore wind ban,” he said. “The Conservatives have artificially inflated energy bills, and make the UK’s energy system dependent on fossil fuel dictators, because they ludicrously oppose cheap, clean power for our country.

A spokesperson for the levelling up department said: “We’ve updated the national planning policy framework to make it easier and quicker for onshore wind projects to come forward, where there is local support. These changes will need time to take effect but will ultimately pave the way for more projects while ensuring that the views of the community are taken into account.”