Plans for new onshore windfarms in England have reached their highest annual level in a decade, with around 45 applications submitted in the year to March, according to a Guardian analysis of government data. Onshore wind power capacity entering the planning system has more than tripled since the government reversed its block on onshore developments just over two years ago.

Before the party's election victory, applications for about 9 megawatts of onshore wind were submitted in England each month on a 12-month rolling average basis. By the beginning of this year, that rate reached about 36MW a month, as renewable energy developers began to return to England, the analysis found.

Recovery from stagnation

The increase is even more pronounced when compared with the lowest point of onshore wind in England in the months before September 2023, when Conservative ministers first began to loosen the regulatory red tape on onshore wind developments. Then, onshore wind applications averaged about 1MW a month. At the time, the Guardian reported that Ukraine was completing more onshore windfarms than England, even as it was occupied by Russian soldiers.

Government response

A government spokesperson said: "For too long, a de facto ban held back onshore wind in England, despite its potential to strengthen our energy security, grow the economy and get bills down for good.

"That is why we lifted the ban, backed the largest onshore windfarm in England in a decade through our flagship renewables auction, and made it easier for farms and factories to install a single small turbine – no bigger than an oak tree – without needing planning permission."

England still lags behind

Despite the increase in activity, the scale of projects being proposed in England remains modest. The average onshore windfarm proposed in England since the ban was lifted had just two turbines, delivering 8MW of renewable power. Only one windfarm with a capacity above 100MW has been proposed.

The Imerys project, near St Austell, Cornwall, became the largest onshore windfarm in England to secure a government subsidy since the ban was lifted, with a capacity of 20MW.

This contrasts sharply with Scotland, where the average onshore windfarm proposed over the same period had nine turbines with 59MW of capacity. There have been 18 onshore windfarms with a capacity greater than 100MW proposed in Scotland.

In total, England's onshore wind proposals since the ban was lifted have climbed to 438MW, compared with 490MW in Wales and 5,280MW in Scotland over the same period.

Tara Singh, CEO of RenewableUK, said: "Onshore wind is one of the UK's cheapest sources of new electricity, generating power at around half the cost of new gas-fired generation."

She highlighted the sector's economic benefits, noting that community benefit funds worth £5,000 a year for every megawatt of onshore wind capacity installed across England are helping local people invest in priorities. There are nearly 3,000MW of onshore wind fully operational in England so far.

Economic impact

For every £1 in post-tax profit a developer makes, around 37p is typically invested back into the local community. The UK's onshore wind supply chain could add up to £56bn to the economy by 2050 by increasing the manufacturing of high-value components such as blades, towers and cables. About 70% of developers' life cycle spending takes place in the UK.