Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about onshore wind power.

I agree with you on this important issue. I believe we need to establish a clear and ambitious target to more than double our current onshore wind capacity to a target of 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, expanding the Contract for Difference auctions to meet this goal. As Renewable UK estimates, this would add £45 billion to the UK economy and create 27,000 high quality jobs. We must also bring forward planning reform in England, so that projects that are consistent with the UK’s energy needs and command local support can go ahead.

Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of zero carbon power available, yet the Government has imposed an effective moratorium on it since 2015. As a result, new onshore wind projects have largely dried up. From 2016 to 2020, for example, new onshore wind applications decreased by 96% – indeed, in the last four years only four turbines a year have been approved.

I believe this block on onshore wind is a terrible mistake and has never made sense. Without it, we would be in a better position when it comes to achieving net zero and tackling the climate emergency, since as Renewable UK has highlighted, under the current restrictions, planning authorities are approving less than half of the onshore wind capacity we need to achieve our climate targets. We would also be in a better position when it comes to energy security and the cost of living: the moratorium has added almost £2 billion to UK energy bills, while denying us power each year equivalent to our gas imports from Russia.

Furthermore, this has also had an impact on jobs. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, employment in the UK’s low-carbon and renewable energy economy fell by about 28,000 from 2014 to 2020, with some of the steepest declines seen in the onshore wind sector.

I therefore believe the Government’s failure to reverse its block on onshore wind or provide the investment in the green transition that we need demonstrates an inability to act in the national interest. I can assure you that I will continue to support efforts to press it on this issue, as well as calls for a green new deal that invests in jobs in onshore wind.

Thank you once again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP