UK Energy Minister Champions Community-Owned Wind to Accelerate Onshore Development and Meet Clean Power Targets
Key Insights
UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks visited Westmill Wind Farm to promote community engagement as crucial for accelerating onshore wind development.
The visit coincided with the launch of Labour's Onshore Wind Strategy, which aims to streamline planning processes and achieve 2030 clean energy targets.
Westmill Wind Farm, a 100% community-owned project, highlighted the historical 15-year planning delays, underscoring the need for regulatory reform.
The new strategy seeks to unlock significant investment, supply chain jobs, and skills development by removing existing planning barriers.
UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks recently underscored the government's commitment to accelerating onshore wind development, emphasizing community engagement as pivotal to overcoming historical planning hurdles. The visit to Westmill Wind Farm in Watchfield, situated on the Oxfordshire-Wiltshire border, coincided with the unveiling of Labour’s comprehensive Onshore Wind Strategy, signaling a renewed push for this vital renewable energy source.
Westmill Wind Farm, commissioned in 2008 with five turbines, stands as a testament to community-led renewable initiatives, claiming to be the first 100% community-owned onshore wind farm in the south of England. However, its operators highlighted the arduous 15-year journey to secure planning approval, a stark illustration of the regulatory complexities that have historically stifled onshore wind deployment in the UK. This experience directly informs the government's new strategy, which aims to significantly ease planning rules to meet the nation’s ambitious clean power targets by 2030.
The current administration, having lifted the effective ban on onshore wind farms imposed in 2015, is now focused on reforming the planning system and ensuring local communities are integral to the development process. Minister Shanks articulated the multifaceted benefits of onshore wind, including its potential to unlock “skills and investment and supply chain jobs right across the country,” alongside its critical role in achieving green energy objectives.
“We’ve already announced, in the [upcoming] Planning and Infrastructure Bill, reforms to how the planning system works, but the action plan we’re announcing on onshore wind is also about breaking down all of those barriers,” Shanks stated. He clarified that the intent is not to diminish local community voice but to prevent the protracted, multi-year planning applications that have historically plagued projects. Mark Luntley, Chair of Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative, welcomed the new strategy, echoing the Minister’s sentiment that robust community buy-in is indispensable for the successful implementation and acceptance of future onshore wind projects. This strategic pivot is poised to reshape the landscape of UK renewable energy, fostering a more collaborative and efficient development environment.