Let's remove the blocks on wind power
The UK needs to more than double its onshore wind capacity by 2030, and we need your help to make it happen.
The good news is that wind is cheap, it’s popular and it will boost the economy. Two-thirds of people say that they would be happy to have onshore wind projects built near where they live, and wind could bring £45bn of additional value and 27,000 full time jobs.
Despite all this, the government is still putting blocks in the way of our onshore wind potential, and that’s why we’re calling on them to remove the remaining barriers and back wind power.
Why can’t we get wind up and running?
Following campaigning from Possible and communities up and down the UK, part of the virtual ban on wind introduced in 2015 was overturned.
The government agreed to re-start the process for new wind projects to start up and make clean energy to feed into our grid. While a positive step, there are still some serious barriers in the way of wind playing its part in the clean energy revolution we need:
Onshore wind has been allocated only a very small amount of funding in the process for getting new projects going, which will seriously limit the amount of clean energy it can generate.
Planning blocks remain in place which make it more difficult to get permission for a new onshore wind project in England than for a new fossil fuel project.
There is no route to market for community benefit and locally owned renewables projects across the UK, including onshore wind.
Why is this a problem?
The government’s refusal to let the UK’s considerable onshore wind resource play its full part in electricity decarbonisation is harming people, communities and our climate.
This is driving up energy bills. It’s now three times more expensive to generate electricity from existing gas power plants, than it would be from new onshore wind projects. If wind installations had been allowed to continue at their pre-2015 pace, energy bills would be £60 cheaper.
The government’s electricity decarbonisation strategy relies on nuclear and gas plants with carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture is a technology which is unproven at scale and has previously failed to work. This would increase costs for consumers, and lock in reliance on fossil fuels.
It is very difficult for communities across the UK to bring forward local renewable energy projects. This means that communities are missing out on a key pathway to reliable, low-cost and low-carbon energy - as well as the community benefit funding and support these projects provide.
How can we fix this?
Possible is calling for the following changes from the government to unblock onshore wind and allow community renewables projects to flourish:
Allowing enough new projects to come online to ensure that the UK has enough onshore wind and solar to support grid decarbonisation by 2030 - and power up the clean, electric heat and transport we’ll need.
Remove the planning blocks on new onshore wind projects in England, and replace them with a system which prioritises local involvement and local benefit.
Set up a system for making community energy projects viable once again, for example by ensuring they can get a paid a viable rate for feeding in clean electricity to our grid.
Give Ofgem (the UK’s electricity regulator) support to cut emissions by setting a zero-carbon mandate, and ensure that the national grid supports power feed in by renewable energy projects across the UK.
Our reliance on expensive, volatile imported gas has led to cost of living crises - and escalating carbon emissions.
If we get this right, the power of onshore wind could bring down bills while slashing carbon emissions.
Will you help us remove the blocks standing in the way of wind power?