Zero plans for public onshore windfarms submitted last year in England

No new proposals for general-use windfarms were submitted for planning permission in England last year, despite the government’s much-vaunted relaxation of planning restrictions.

Only seven applications were submitted for onshore wind turbines for the whole of 2023 in England, new data from the government has shown, and all of those developments were for the replacement of existing turbines or for private sites, where the energy produced is destined for a particular consumer, such as a business.

The number was even lower than the 10 applications submitted in 2022, when the de facto ban was still in force.

Four onshore wind developments were granted planning permission in England last year from prior applications, all of which were either turbine replacements or for private use, and work began on one 4MW project in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, which had received permission the year before.

Last September, ministers announced changes to the restrictive regulations that had in effect ruled out onshore wind turbine construction in England since 2015, brought in by David Cameron to appease rightwing Conservatives.

Rishi Sunak agreed to amend the regulations last year under pressure from his backbenchers who were concerned about the impact of the ban on energy prices. But campaigners pointed out that the relaxation of the ban was only partial, and warned it was likely to be ineffective.

Data released in December showed that no new plans had been submitted since the change of rules in September, and additional data released this week confirmed the absence of applications for onshore windfarms that would serve for general public use.

By contrast, at least 46 applications for onshore wind development applications were made over the same period in Scotland, where no such ban has ever been imposed.

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Chaitanya Kumar, head of environment and green transition at the New Economics Foundation thinktank, who analysed the government data, said the findings showed that the government was failing to harness the opportunities of onshore wind energy generation, which could bring down electricity bills and displace some of the need for expensive gas.

“Onshore wind remains the cheapest source of clean energy in the UK, and has already contributed to billions in savings for UK households,” he said.

“But England continues to miss out on tapping this valuable resource, while Scotland and the rest of Europe add large amounts of wind capacity every year.”

Research last year by Carbon Brief found that the onshore wind ban had cost consumers about £5bn – or £180 per household across the UK – in annual energy bills, compared with the savings possible if renewable energy developers had been allowed to continue to build onshore windfarms in England at the same rate as before the ban.

Polls repeatedly find that onshore wind would be popular in England, and the government has made moves towards allowing local communities to benefit from renewable energy developments in their area.

Kumar urged ministers to bring forward further changes to the planning regime. “This government needs to further revise its planning policy framework, remove any remaining restrictions for new projects, and encourage greater community ownership of onshore wind,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “We updated the National Planning Policy Framework in September 2023 to make it easier and quicker for onshore wind projects to come forward, where there is local support.

“These changes will need time to take effect but will ultimately pave the way for more projects while ensuring that the views of the community are taken into account.”