Just two turbines installed in England last year

Only two small onshore wind turbines were installed in the whole of England last year while deployment of offshore wind capacity across the UK hit an annual record in 2022, according to new RenewableUK statistics.

The figures from the renewables umbrella body’s EnergyPulse data analysis team, published on Monday (6 February),shows that a total of 3,511MW of new wind capacity was added last year – enough to power more than 3.4 million UK homes a year.

The bulk of this new wind capacity came via three major offshore projects that went fully operational in 2022.

These projects alone added 3,193MW of new capacity, smashing the previous annual record of 2,125MW that was set in 2018, according to the analysis.

The new offshore wind capacity was also ten times bigger than the 318MW of new onshore projects installed during 2022.

Of the ten new onshore wind projects installed in 2022, six new projects in Scotland provided nearly all the new capacity (314MW).

Only one of the projects was in England – the building of two turbines with a total capacity of 1MW.

In addition, one 2.5MW project was brought online in Wales and two in Northern Ireland (0.5MW).

Last year’s onshore wind deployment marked a fall on 2021, when 370MW of new capacity was added – 295MW in Scotland and 75MW in Northern Ireland.

The figures have emerged as the UK government undertakes a consultation, announced in December, on proposals to ease the planning rules for onshore wind farms in England.

Development of onshore wind in England has been held back by extremely tight planning restrictions on this type of development.

Dan McGrail, chief executive of RenewableUK, said: “The latest figures show we made terrific progress in installing a record amount of new offshore wind capacity last year. However, we still need to ensure that the glacial pace of the consenting process is stepped up significantly to stay on track for the quadrupling of offshore capacity that the government wants to see by 2030 as a key step in strengthening the UK’s energy security.

“In all parts of the UK, including Scotland, investors are highlighting the planning system as a major block on developing onshore new wind farms. Onshore wind is one of our cheapest sources of new power and the government’s own polling shows that four-fifths of the public support it. But outdated planning rules and lack of resources in planning authorities mean progress and investment are being held back.

“Just two small turbines went operational in England in 2022, so we need to see substantial changes to enable consumers and local communities to benefit fully from the benefits that this popular low-cost technology offers. That means changing the rules which skew the planning system unfairly against onshore wind in England, putting it back on a level playing field so that it can compete fairly against other clean technologies”.