The UK government revealed yesterday (18 July) the launch of an Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce to accelerate deployment of the variable renewable energy generation technology by 2030.
In stark contrast to the previous Conservative government, which failed to lift the de facto ban on new onshore wind projects in England last year, Labour has hedged its bets on the technology, first removing the same ban in one of its first moves as the elected government on 8 July and now establishing an industry taskforce.
This will also see the Labour government position itself to deliver on one of the primary aspects of its election manifesto: to double onshore wind capacity by 2030 after years of stagnation.
Taskforce set to maximise opportunities from onshore wind
The Taskforce, which will be led by Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for Energy Security and Net Zero, who was elected into this role earlier this month, and Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables, will look to achieve several core objectives to support onshore wind deployment.
To begin with, the Taskforce will focus on removing obstacles that onshore wind developers encounter when trying to deploy their projects. They will look to pinpoint financial, regulatory, or policy challenges that hinder the cost-effective and efficient construction and operation of onshore wind projects.
Alongside this, the Taskforce said it will consider the potential impacts that onshore wind projects can have on the local environment and broader electricity system, and identify opportunities to facilitate continued cost reductions and ensure investment in UK supply chains, jobs, skills and innovation.
Finally, the Taskforce aims to bring together the relevant bodies from across the system, establish consensus and agree on the actions needed to remove the barriers, ensure sustainability, and capture the benefits.
The Taskforce will meet regularly throughout 2024. At the end of this period, it will issue a formal policy statement that clearly outlines a roadmap for 2030 and beyond, the challenges and opportunities of accelerating onshore wind development to meet our goals, and the commitments to the necessary actions. The Taskforce will then transition into an overarching body that will monitor the progress of agreed-upon actions
RenewableUK’s chief executive Dan McGrail, who will be a member of the Taskforce, said the establishment of the Taskforce demonstrates “strong backing for onshore wind from Westminister”.
“Onshore wind already generates over 20% of the UK’s electricity a year, so it has a key role in bringing secure, low-cost power to the whole country and specifically tailored economic benefits to local communities hosting new projects. Our research shows that delivering 30GW of onshore wind by the end of the decade would boost the economy by £45 billion and create 27,000 jobs,” McGrail added.
In other news, the government recently confirmed that it would be reactivating the Solar Taskforce as part of a series of plans to speed up solar energy deployment across the country.