The UK has surpassed the 15GW onshore wind capacity milestone, revealed RenewableUK, with 15.002GW across 2,631 projects.
According to the trade association, the project that saw the UK cross the 15GW threshold was EDF Renewables UK’s 30.1MW West Benhar onshore wind farm, consisting of seven turbines located in North Lanarkshire.
63% of the UK’s onshore capacity (9.4GW) is in Scotland. Conversely, England only houses 2.93GW of fully operational onshore wind capacity – less than 20% of the UK’s capacity.
Only one turbine has begun operation in the UK since the beginning of 2023 an oversight that is largely attributed to England’s de facto ban on onshore wind farms which requires approval for a new asset to receive unanimous approval to be granted planning permission.
A measure that has been in place since 2015, the energy industry has heavily criticised this de facto ban.
In September 2023 the UK government released new measures to help ease the planning and consent process for onshore wind farms, including broadening the identification of suitable locations and speeding up the process of allocating sites by giving alternatives to the local planning process.
RenewableUK’s head of policy James Robottom said: “It’s great to see West Benhar going fully operational – this excellent Scottish project boosts the UK’s total onshore wind capacity to over 15 gigawatts, which is a major milestone for the industry, strengthening our energy security and providing clean electricity for consumers from one of our cheapest sources of new power.
A strong wind on the horizon
Onshore wind, alongside all renewable technologies eligible to bid in the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, received a boost in last week’s Spring Budget as chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the budget for the sixth auction round (AR6) will surpass £1 billion.
This means that the budget allocated to ‘Pot 1’ of AR6 – which includes onshore wind – will be £120 million.
“We welcome the Government’s announcement this week of the budget for this year’s auction for new clean energy projects. It’s important to ensure that the UK maximises the amount of new onshore wind and solar capacity we secure in this year’s auction, to benefit local communities and help to grow our supply chain”, added Robottom.
Robottom also called for the government to harness the potential of onshore wind in the UK by setting a target of 30GW of onshore wind by 2030.
“We’re urging the Government to set an ambitious UK-wide target of 30 gigawatts of onshore wind by 2030, so that we can maximise the economic benefits of this technology throughout the country”, said Robottom.
“Our research shows this would boost the economy by £45 billion and create 27,000 jobs. We need to accelerate the build out of new projects in areas where local communities support onshore wind if we’re to double our capacity by the end of the decade and get closer to the Government’s net zero target.”
