No application has been submitted for an onshore wind scheme in England since the government relaxed planning rules with a big push 10 weeks ago, it has emerged.
Membership body RenewableUK said its data showed zero bids to build turbines on English soil after ministers acted to make it easier for such projects to be approved.
Rules that previously allowed councils to reject wind farm applications on the basis of a local objection were amended when the Energy Bill was debated in the Commons on 5 September.
Planning authorities may now be more considerate of supporting such projects, with COP26 chairman Sir Alok Sharma saying “the de facto ban is lifted”.
However, the latest data suggests that there is no immediate end in sight to the halt in onshore wind construction. Just six turbines have started operating in England since 2020, compared with 13 in 2019 alone and more than 1,000 in the five years to 2017.
RenewableUK head of policy James Robottom said the changes to the wording of the National Planning Policy Framework for onshore wind in September were extremely minor and left room for different interpretations.
“The government’s very slight changes to the planning system will not lead to a significant increase in the number of new onshore wind farms in England,” he said.
“There are still restrictions on onshore wind that no other infrastructure faces, despite broad cross-party support to end the de facto ban, which is eroding the confidence of otherwise interested investors .
“As a result, local communities that support onshore wind are being denied the opportunity to benefit from cheap, clean energy, and construction companies are missing out on opportunities to win new contracts. We must to see new measures that build investor confidence so that we can grow the onshore wind industry in England, reduce energy bills and increase our energy security.”
Alasdair Reisner, chief executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, welcomed the planning changes despite a lack of evidence of their impact.
“We recognize that it will take some time for developers to come forward with new schemes now that they are able to do so,” he said.
“We predict that, as a relatively low-cost, low-carbon form of generation, we should see a growth in land-based applications in England in the future and would encourage developers to work with national and local government to enable this to happen with as quickly as possible.”
A spokesman for the National Infrastructure Commission said: “The biggest step in encouraging onshore wind projects would be to include these schemes in the system for major infrastructure projects at national level. Leveling the playing field in this way would help to increase energy security and unlock one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy generation.”
A government spokesman said: “We are supporting onshore and offshore wind as a key part of the UK’s renewables mix, installing an additional 339MW of additional onshore wind capacity in 2022 alone, equivalent to more than 100 turbines.
“The latest round of Contracts for Difference saw a record number of successful renewables projects, including onshore wind projects. The streamlined National Planning Policy Framework aims to make it easier and faster than onshore wind projects are developed where there is local support.”
