Coutinho hails ‘key role’ for onshore wind as ban is axed

Onshore wind has a “key role” to play, the new energy secretary has said as the government unveiled a relaxation of its long-standing de facto planning ban on the technology’s deployment in England.

Under changes to national planning policy, announced today (5 September), councils will have to consider the view of the whole community rather than a “small minority” when considering onshore wind farms applications.

The current wording of the National Planning Policy Framework allows new wind farm projects to be blocked by individual objectors.

However widening the way sites are identified for wind farms will “ensure the whole community has a say, not just a small number of objectors”, the government has said.

Highlighting that renewables are a “crucial part of our energy transition”, energy security and net zero secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Onshore wind also has a key role to play and these changes will help speed up the delivery of projects where local communities want them.”

Coutinho’s comments mark a break from the reluctance by previous Conservative business and energy secretaries to embrace onshore wind since the introduction by David Cameron’s government of the de facto ban on onshore wind.

The government’s move on onshore wind planning follows pressure from backbench Conservative MPs.

A total of 25 Tory backbench MPs have signed an amendment to the Energy Bill, which has resumed its passage through the House of Commons this week, designed to remove current planning restriction that enable a single objector to block an onshore wind development.

The amendment had been submitted by Sir Alok Sharma, the president of last winter’s COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, and is supported by several heavyweight Conservative politicians, including former prime minister Liz Truss.

With the government at risk of suffering an embarrassing Commons defeat if the amendment was pushed to a vote, ministers are understood to be preparing a written ministerial statement easing the existing planning rules.

James Robottom, head of onshore wind at RenewableUK, said the government’s proposed changes had not gone far enough.

“We will still face a planning system stacked against onshore wind that treats it differently to every other energy source or infrastructure project. A lot will be open to interpretation and there are still hurdles to navigate which remain in place. There has been a slight softening at the edges but nothing more. As a result, we’re not going to see investment into new onshore wind at the scale needed to rapidly cut bills and boost energy security.

“While industry will work with government to see how these changes might be able to support a limited number of new developments, this is a missed opportunity to reinvigorate onshore wind in England after eight years of lost progress.”

His concerns were echoed by Energy UK’s deputy chief executive, Dhara Vyas, who said the statement had not “put onshore wind in the position where it is treated the same in the same way as other infrastructure planning applications.

“Without that, this will represent a missed opportunity as developers will remain reluctant about committing the time and expense of putting forward new onshore projects knowing they still face a higher risk of being blocked.”

But others welcomed what many saw as an “overdue” move.

Sam Richards, founder and campaign director of Britain Remade, said: “Today’s change tips the balance back in favour of local people who back onshore wind in their area, and should end the perverse situation we currently have whereby a single objection could block a development even if the majority are in favour.

“This is a decision the Prime Minister should be proud of. Lifting the 2015 ban will make Britain more energy secure, cut our dependency on volatile international gas markets, reduce energy bills for millions, and create high skilled jobs across the country.”

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said: “It is good that the government has taken this decision, but it is long overdue. Onshore wind is the cheapest form of clean energy and it was sheer madness for the government to have maintained barriers to new developments during an energy crisis that was triggered by our dependence on natural gas. We have all been poorer and colder because of the effective ban on onshore wind.

“It is quite right that communities have a say about the development of, and benefit from, energy infrastructure in their local areas. But the planning process has meant that a small number of individuals have been able to hold the country to ransom by blocking new onshore wind even where it has strong community support. Opinion polls show overwhelming support nationally for onshore windfarms.

Jess Ralston, energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, added: “More British onshore wind could help to reduce bills while improving our energy security as we’ll need to buy less expensive gas from abroad.

“Lifting the ban also sends a message that the government is serious about ensuring that the benefits of cheaper renewables can be maximised, which is sensible given the alternative, gas, is expected to stay 2-3 times higher than pre-crisis levels for the foreseeable future.”

Meanwhile, Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary of the union Prospect, said: “This is a welcome decision that is long overdue, reversing the appalling de facto ban on onshore wind that left us so exposed to foreign fossil fuels and sent bills skyrocketing.”

Cameron introduced the de facto ban following strong pressure from Conservative rural MPs and activists who object to the appearance of wind farms.