‘Green Day’: Government slammed for failure to unblock onshore wind projects in England
Raft of energy and climate documents published today suggest big decisions on planning reform that can scale low-carbon energy source have been deferred once again
The government is facing fierce criticism from business leaders and climate campaigners over its decision not to lift the ‘de facto’ ban on new onshore wind farms in England as part of its avalanche of energy security announcements today.
The government has published thousands of pages of documents today as it looks to revamp the UK’s energy security and net zero strategies, but onshore wind energy is barely mentioned despite the technology being widely acknowledged as one of the cheapest and quickest ways to deliver new clean energy capacity.
Onshore wind has been effectively banned in England since 2015, when onerous planning rules on the development of new turbines on land were introduced by former Prime Minister David Cameron. Just two onshore wind turbines were erected in England last year, according to industry figures.
There had been hopes the slew of announcements released today by Ministers would see the rolling back of the restrictions, after the government pledged to reform the system to allow new onshore wind farm projects where they command local support in response to a backbench rebellion on the issue.
The government’s Energy Security Plan, published this morning, acknowledges that onshore wind is “an efficient, cheap and widely supported technology”, but appears to push any decision on whether it will scrap current restrictions set out in the National Planning Policy Framework until later in the Spring.
“Government has consulted on changes to planning policy in England for onshore wind to deliver a more localist approach that provides local authorities more flexibility to respond to the views of their local communities,” it notes. “We also consulted on proposed measures to support the repowering of onshore wind, in line with commitments made in the British Energy Security Strategy. We will respond to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation by spring 2023.”
That consultation sparked warnings from the campaigners that the proposed reforms would have a negligible impact on current rules and could effectively leave the ‘de facto’ ban on new projects in place.
Meanwhile, a separate document – the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan – highlights the government’s intention to consult further on how a new local partnerships system for onshore wind projects could work.
“The government is due to launch a new consultation to seek views on how to improve the system of engagement and benefits in England,” it states. “The proposals in the consultation may help to indirectly reduce delays and improve the consenting of onshore wind planning applications by introducing policies to improve community support for onshore wind projects in England.”
But business groups, climate campaigners, and opposition politicians slammed the government’s failure to confirm changes to current planning restrictions, noting the current system is blocking the development of cheap, low-carbon energy that can reduce the country’s reliance on expensive imports of fossil fuels.
Alethea Warrington, senior campaigner at climate charity Possible, said citizens would pay a high price for the latest delay to the government’s decision.
“The government still refuses to deliver the clean, cheap, secure renewable energy we need,” she said. “Rather than unblock onshore wind, the government is pumping billions into dangerous, risky and polluting gas and nuclear power – and sending the huge bill to energy bill payers. But it is not just billpayers, but our climate and people around the world, who will pay the price for this government’s appalling choice of dirty, expensive and insecure energy instead of onshore wind.”
Sam Richards, founder and campaign director of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, similarly warned the government’s ‘Green Day’ was “silent on the cheapest form of energy available”.
“Onshore wind is overwhelmingly popular across the country,” he said. “By ending the ban on new onshore wind developments in England we can unlock at least 20GW of onshore wind generation by 2030.”
The government’s decision to not press ahead with the planning reforms – despite reports it was considering doing so – was also slammed by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and Ed Miliband, Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary.
Miliband said the government’s ‘Green Day’ announcements were “most notable for their glaring omissions: no removal of the onshore wind ban which is costing families hundreds of pounds on bills, no new investment for energy efficiency which could cut bills and imports, no response to the Inflation Reduction Act which could help Britain win the global race for clean energy jobs.”
BusinessGreen reached out to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for a response to the criticism and more detail on when it might launch its new consultation on local partnerships for onshore wind projects.
