The new Labour government’s lifting of the de facto ban on onshore wind farm developments in England represents a huge and important step forward for the development of the renewables sector.

Attending the recent Renewable UK Onshore Wind Conference in Edinburgh, the Dulas team welcomed the opportunity to meet with colleagues across the industry and to help them make the most of the new opportunities presented by the onshore wind farm ban lift.

In this article, we take a closer look at those opportunities, sharing insights into how we can support you at every stage of your wind farm, from site finding through to build with our new partner Our Footprints.

A look at the changing landscape

For more than a decade, wind farm progress in England has been at a standstill due to historic government policy, with only a handful of smaller projects going through development in the last 10 years.

However, on July 8th this year the ban was lifted, and the landscape for onshore wind farms is beginning to look very different, with developers making their way back to the English renewables sector. This period is hugely important for renewables, as we see developers starting plans to support the government’s ambitious targets to double Britain’s onshore wind capacity by 2030.

The impact of England’s wind farm ban

The de facto wind farm ban was implemented in 2015, when wind power made up around 10% of the UK’s electricity supply. While not banned outright, changes were made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which meant that even one objection from the local area was enough to stop planning for onshore wind farms. While amendments were made in 2023 that slightly eased restrictions on this change to policy did not go far enough to give developers confidence in new onshore wind projects.

In the four years before the wind farm ban (2011-2015), 426 wind turbines were granted planning permission1. By contrast, in the four years following (2016-2020), only 16 new turbines were approved, stopping many vital renewable infrastructure projects in their tracks. 2023 saw only seven applications for onshore wind turbines in England, and none for new wind farm sites. Comparatively, there were 46 applications in Scotland where the de facto wind farm ban has never been in place .

Now the ban has been lifted, we are currently actively working on several wind energy projects in England. We are also excited to support the continued growth of the renewables sector in Scotland and Wales, who have been leading the UK in onshore wind development for the last decade. Scotland’s wind turbines make up 75% of the UK’s total wind energy capacity at present, and Wales is significantly increasing development activity with the potential to double their capacity through projects currently in the pipeline .

How Dulas can help make your wind farm happen

As the UK’s most established independent renewable energy company, Dulas has over four decades of comprehensive experience in managing wind farms from conception to build stage, across the whole of the UK and Ireland, with partners like Our Footprints able to then support throughout the construction process and beyond.

From start to finish, the Dulas team offers expert support to keep wind farm projects progressing, remove roadblocks, and provide robust, cost-effective solutions for the varied projects our clients come to us with. The benefits of our combined approach include:

  • A one-stop solution with consultancy services and wind monitoring services all handled in-house.
  • A single point of contact through the whole development phase.
  • Decades of collective experience and hundreds of successful projects for our consultants to draw on, providing the best solutions for our clients’ projects.
  • No miscommunication between multiple contractors means reduced risk for our clients.

Our wide portfolio of valued clients ranges from individual landowners and medium-sized commercial developers to major multi-national utility companies.

Having predominantly been working with clients in Wales and Scotland in the past decade, we are now looking forward to expanding our services back across England where we were very active before the ban, as new opportunities for developers emerge. With significant knowledge and experience of working within the English planning system, and a specialist consultant on the English planning system in our team, we’re on hand to support projects of all scopes and sizes, as our clients navigate this re-emerging renewable energy landscape.

To learn more about our services and how Dulas Renewables can help support your onshore wind farm projects, please get in touch with our team.

1 https://news.sky.com/story/onshore-wind-farm-rules-to-change-could-one-end-up-on-your-doorstep-12955356
2 https://www.sustainability-beat.co.uk/2024/02/16/onshore-wind-2023/
3 Renewable UK Energy Pulse: Onshore Wind September 2024