Government will take ‘radical actions’ to build more wind turbines across the UK
The government has published its first-ever onshore wind strategy, which sets out its plan to accelerate the country’s wind energy generation through building and repowering wind turbines across the UK.
Announcing its new strategy, the government noted that it has ended a nine-year de-facto ban on onshore wind in England and listed ‘over 40 radical actions’ it would take to expand onshore wind generation across the UK.
The strategy could lead to thousands of jobs being created by 2030 to build, maintain, and operate more onshore wind infrastructure across England and the rest of the UK, the government said.
By resolving issues with wind turbines and aerospace infrastructure, the government aims to unlock up to 10GW of onshore wind, and said that in addition to building new infrastructure, it will also repower old wind turbines across the country.
The planning and development system for onshore wind projects in England will also be overhauled to speed up surevying, assessments, and decision-making when it comes to building new wind turbines.
The goal of the strategy is to reach 27-29GW of onshore wind generation capacity by 2030, supporting up to 45,000 skilled jobs across the country.
A new Onshore Wind Council will be created to oversee the execution of the onshore wind strategy.
“Rolling out more onshore wind is a no-brainer – it’s one of our cheapest technologies, quick to build, supports thousands of skilled jobs and can provide clean energy directly to the communities hosting it,” said Energy Minister Michael Shanks.
“After years of decline, we’re giving industry the tools to get building again, backing industrial renewal and secure, clean, homegrown energy through our Plan for Change.”
“As one of the cheapest and fastest to build sources of power we have, onshore wind will play a critical role in boosting our energy independence with clean power by 2030,” said Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband.
“The reality is that every turbine we build helps protect families, businesses and the public finances from future fossil fuel shocks.”
