BLITZ BUREAU
RENEWABLE energy companies have begun work on new onshore windfarms in England for the first time in almost a decade after the new government reversed restrictions the Conservatives had put in place on turbines.
Potential sites
At least half a dozen renewables developers have begun identifying potential sites for full-scale windfarms in England after the Labour party swept to power last week with the promise to make Britain a clean energy superpower, according to Guardian. The new schemes are expected to renew the supply of onshore projects that are essential to the government’s plan to double Britain’s onshore wind capacity to 30GW by 2030.
Currently the only onshore windfarms in England’s planning pipeline are projects using one or two turbines, located on private property. Just for comparison, Ukraine built more onshore wind turbines than England in 2022 despite Russia’s invasion. But Labour’s decision to reform planning rules mean larger onshore windfarms could return to England by the end of the decade.
One of the UK’s biggest wind developers, Germany’s RWE, said it began identifying viable sites to develop onshore windfarms “some time ago”, in advance of Labour’s victory, and expects its pipeline of new projects to develop “quite quickly”.
Other energy companies including EDF Renewables, RES Group, Coriolis Energy and Ridge Energy have also confirmed that they are moving forward with plans for potential onshore windfarm projects in England. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “The onshore wind ban was in place for nine years, and this government has removed it in 72 hours. We are wasting no time in investing in the clean homegrown energy that our country needs to lower bills and make Britain energy independent.”
RES Group, the Hertfordshirebased company, which built England’s second ever windfarm in the early 1990s, has confirmed that it is considering a return to full-scale English projects in the future. Ian Hunt, the global head of asset management for RES Group, said: “England is definitely a core market for us.” Trevor Hunter, a development manager from Coriolis Energy, said his company was considering half a dozen sites in England.
Technical advances
Industry sources believe that the return of onshore windfarms to England will face less opposition from local communities than prior to the Conservative government’s effective ban. This is due to technological advances.
