Onshore wind: it’s time for the government to hold its nerve

By Scott Harker

For a government in receipt of an 80-seat majority, the Prime Minister and his cabinet have shown a propensity to talk boldly and then behave in a timid manner, particularly when faced with internal opposition. The drastic watering down of reforms to the planning system is one example of this, yet it is on energy policy where this trait once again threatens to rear its head.

The impact of rising energy prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have pushed energy policy higher up the agenda. Our legal commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 meant that we were already facing a number of difficult decisions as to how we bring about a much-needed increase in the country’s capacity to generate renewable energy.

In short, our future, domestic, energy generation mix is important and we need to make important decisions about it now. The Government has pledged to act and is in the process of drawing up plans that have been referred to as an ‘energy security strategy’. This will seek to increase the volume of energy that the UK generates at home, offering greater protection to consumers from price shocks, while also bringing about an acceleration of new renewable energy development to meet our net zero obligations.

An update on the strategy is expected this week and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, has been pushing for onshore wind power to play a greater role in the UK’s energy mix. National media coverage of Mr Kwarteng’s initiative indicates that it has the potential to split the cabinet. Onshore wind in England is effectively prohibited by a requirement within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that requires that any objections to new wind farms from the local community have been addressed and that the proposals have the support of all. This effectively places a special burden on onshore wind.

This requirement exists because of strong local opposition to onshore wind during the first Cameron government. Claims by campaigners that onshore wind is inefficient, ugly, and unnecessary had the effect of persuading many Conservative MPs (whose constituency were disproportionately affected by such planning applications) that change was needed. The changes brought about in 2014 have effectively slowed the development of onshore wind in England to a trickle and have seen the focus of development switch offshore.

Many of the MPs who supported the push to limit onshore wind development now sit at the cabinet table, yet Mr Kwarteng believes that the passage of time has done much to change the public’s view of onshore wind. Since 2014, support for measures to address climate change has increased significantly. It is also believed that the Prime Minister is supportive of making a change.

Both will need to be strong on this and carry through their vision in a way that the Government seemingly has failed to on planning reform. Virtually every major source of new energy generation that has been discussed in recent weeks is subject to some form of opposition (both local and national): nuclear for its expense and decommissioning impacts, fracking for its emissions, and solar for its appearance and land use. To listen to the opposition to all is to do nothing, and this is simply not a tenable position.
 
The Government will ultimately need to commit to a mix of new sources of energy: wind (onshore and offshore), solar (large and small scale), nuclear and untapped sources such as tidal. There is also scope to address the challenge with more popular solutions too, such as addressing the poor energy efficiency of UK homes, but the priority must be a concerted push on all fronts. To achieve this, this Government must recognise that it cannot please everyone and that it’s time to match bold proposals with bold actions.