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More than 30GW of onshore wind generation is now operational, under construction or at some stage of planning or development, new research from RenewableUK has revealed.
If everything in the current pipeline gets built then total onshore capacity would reach 30.3GW by the end of 2029.
RenewableUK recently published equivalent figures for offshore wind that showed 41.3GW of capacity in the works in the UK, giving a total across both sectors of almost 72GW.
Its head of policy and regulation, Rebecca Williams, said: “Now that onshore wind is firmly back on the table, companies are bringing forward projects at a scale that can make a huge contribution to building back greener. Onshore wind is one of the cheapest ways to generate clean power and we can ramp up this technology rapidly to reach net zero emissions.
“Next year’s auction for new clean energy contracts is a crucial step in unlocking the new jobs and investment that onshore wind can deliver as part of the green recovery. Our latest forecast shows what’s possible, but we need the right policy levers and regulation in place to make it happen.”
The trade association said the forecast 30GW is expected to include 1.2GW from repowered windfarms, which currently only account for 231MW of the UK’s existing operational capacity of 13.6GW.
It noted that the Committee on Climate Change, which was recently rebranded as the Climate Change Committee, has said the UK may need as much as 35GW of onshore wind generation by 2030 to put it on course to meet its 2050 net zero target.
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