Thank you for contacting me about onshore wind farms.
The United Kingdom was the first major economy to legislate for net zero carbon emissions and since 2000, the UK has decarbonised faster than any other G7 country. Onshore wind is a key part of the Government’s strategy for low-cost decarbonisation of the energy sector and it will be integral to achieving net zero for South Devon and the Nation by 2050.
It is for this reason that the Government plans to introduce changes to the planning system in England whereby planning permission for onshore wind would depend upon a project commanding local support and being able to satisfactorily address any impacts identified by the local community. The Government consulted on these changes and I understand that responses received to the consultation are being analysed. I look forward to reading the Government's response in due course.
Separately, the Government has said that it will seek views on developing local partnerships for supportive communities to enable those who would like to host new onshore wind to benefit, for example through lower energy bills.
The Energy White Paper stated that there will need to be sustained growth in the capacity of onshore wind over the next decade alongside solar and offshore wind. Therefore, the Government announced that onshore wind and other established renewable technologies such as solar PV will be able to compete in the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. The Government has recently confirmed a budget of £205 million for the fifth allocation round of the CfD scheme.
Furthermore, the Hydrogen Strategy made clear that Scotland has a key role to play in the development of a UK hydrogen economy, with the potential to produce industrial-scale quantities of hydrogen from offshore and onshore wind resources, wave and tidal power, as well as with Carbon Capture Usage and Storage. The Energy Security Strategy also indicates that there will be 12,000 jobs in the UK hydrogen industry by 2030 – 3,000 more than previously expected.
I will continue to monitor any future developments closely.
