New Labour government immediately removes community-led restrictions on onshore wind development in England 

The chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last Monday 8^th July, that the “de facto ban” on onshore wind in England, in place since 2015, would be lifted, as expressed in a new  Policy statement, which is applicable as of the same day and was confirmed at the State Opening on the 18^th July.  

The ban is expressed in two footnotes in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which together consider onshore wind developments acceptable only if the proposals are fully backed by the local community and if no opposition arises. According to the government, the removal of these conditions means that “onshore wind applications will be treated in the same way as other energy development proposals.” 

The revision to the planning policy is in line with the government’s commitment to doubling onshore wind energy generation by 2030, and the advice by the Climate Change Committee to install 35 GW of onshore wind by 2035 as key step to reach net zero. For reference, currently only 15 GW of onshore wind capacity have been installed in the UK, over half of those in Scotland. 

The reaction of experts in sustainable development has been generally positive. For example, Mike Childs, Head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth said that “by ending the onshore wind ban in England, Labour is making an important stride towards delivering on our climate goals while also paving the way for lower bills, as renewables produce some of the cheapest and cleanest energy available.” 

Peter Childs FREng, Professor and Co-Director of the Energy Futures Lab at Imperial and Director at BladeBUG Ltd said “The UK could be a net exporter of renewable energy – tripling our offshore and onshore provision of wind energy would a good start and I really hope that these projects will breeze through approval processes over the next year” 

Dr. Caroline Howe, Senior lecturer at the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College mentioned that “Wind energy now accounts for, on average, 25% of U.K. electricity. Due to our geography, the U.K. is in a unique position to expand its onshore wind capacity, to enable us to meet both our national and international goals on net-zero and climate change. In addition, “home-grown” energy, in the form of wind, will create more jobs, contribute to improving our air quality, decrease energy costs thus reducing energy poverty and inequality, and will contribute to energy security in a globally politically fragile world. It is important to note there are potential trade-offs, e.g. direct impacts on biodiversity such as birds and bats and impacts on the aesthetic quality of our environment. However, research has shown that a greater percentage of the population is in favor of onshore wind farms than against, and the risks to biodiversity can be minimised, e.g. through tools such as the Biodiversity Mitigation Hierarchy. Thus, if the trade-offs are properly accounted for and managed during the development of new onshore wind farms, the benefits outweigh the costs with respect to energy security, reduced energy costs, and contributions to climate change mitigation.”