A new poll commissioned by industry trade body RenewableUK has shown that the majority of the British public find blocks and delays to renewable energy developments “frustrating” and support greater energy infrastructure development.
The poll, conducted by Opinium Research, gathered opinions from 10,021 adults across the UK. Of the respondents, 61% said they would feel frustrated if a local renewable energy project with majority community support was blocked from being built by a small number of objectors.
Additionally, 59% of those surveyed supported the construction of new electricity grid infrastructure to speed up the rollout of low-cost renewable energy, with only 6% opposing such development.
The majority of respondents were in support of new infrastructure in their local area: 61% supported the development of new grid infrastructure within five miles of their home if it forms part of a national upgrade programme and also provides funding for the local community. A mere 8% disagreed with this kind of development.
RenewableUK’s head of strategic communications, Nathan Bennett, said: “Support for new wind and solar farms has been rising for several years now, driven by their low cost, concerns about the UK’s energy security and the need to tackle climate change. What’s interesting about this polling is that support doesn’t just remain strong when people are faced with the prospect of a wind farm in their local area, but there’s now a silent majority of people who would be frustrated to see local projects stopped by small groups of opponents.
“The polling on public attitudes to new grid infrastructure is also revealing, as it shows that the majority of people are happy to see new grid built near to them if the project is part of a clear national plan, provides local funding for communities and enables investment in projects which generate low-cost power. The government is committed to introducing reforms to get vital new grid infrastructure built faster to make the most of our world-class clean energy resources, so we’re looking forward to making progress on this longstanding barrier as soon as possible”.
Planning system is deeply flawed
According to Solar Media market analysis, the UK wind sector is set to see a boom in onshore planning applications following the newly elected Labour government’s removal of the de facto ban on onshore wind.
As such, many in the clean energy industry are calling for reforms to the planning permission system following complaints of delays, red tape, and hard-to-navigate processes. Research consultancy Cornwall Insight found that, between 2018 and 2023, only 20% of renewable energy projects submitted for planning could potentially still come to fruition, with 63% of projects either abandoned, refused permission, withdrawn, or expired out of the system.
RenewableUK, alongside countryside charity CPRE and sustainable business organisation Aldersgate Group, recently released the interim findings of their investigation into the UK’s onshore renewable energy planning system in a report titled Insights for the decarbonised electricity system: journeys through planning. This report made several early recommendations for improving the planning system, urging the government to involve planning experts, communities, environmental groups, and infrastructure developers in creating new planning policies.
Among the public, the majority view is that communities should be more involved in the planning process. Research carried out by YouGov for the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) showed that 59% of British adults want more public involvement in the planning process for major infrastructure projects; this number rises to 67% among Scottish adults.
