The Future of Onshore Wind

One of labour’s key objectives was to promote onshore wind in England so it could play a key part in achieving clean power by 2030. It has taken several steps to achieve this so far including revising planning policy to place onshore wind on the same footing as other energy development in the NPPF and making the Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025 to re-include large onshore proposals into the NSIP regime. In July 2024, it established the Onshore Wind Taskforce, tasked with unlocking barriers which developers face, ensuring sustainability and capturing  benefits to explore how onshore wind deployment could be accelerated. The Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy was published on 4 July 2025 and sets out over forty steps the Government and industry will take to help deliver up to 29GW of onshore wind by 2030. Whilst the primary focus is on the deployment of onshore wind in England, the Strategy also recognises the importance of addressing the barriers to onshore wind development across the UK.

The actions fall under six themes and each is assigned an owner and a delivery timeline. We have summarised each of them below to give you an overview of what changes are likely to be delivered during the rest of this year and into 2026 and 2027.

Scoping, planning and consenting

•  Modernising the existing system of environmental assessments through the introduction of environmental outcomes reports, which it will publish a roadmap for implementation for, and a nature restoration fund, which forms part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, 2025/2026, currently passing through Parliament;
• Scoping a data tool to support LPAs, NGOS and statutory consultees with identifying suitable sites and facilitating better transparency and engagement at the assessment stage; 
• Considering the role that Great British Energy can play in supporting development opportunities through originating new projects or seeking partnership opportunities; 
• Reintroducing onshore wind into the NSIP regime with an updated threshold of 100MW. The Government has brought forward legislation that re-introduces onshore wind into the NSIP regime, laying the statutory instrument to enact this change in March 2025. The Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025 was made in June 2025, and will come into force on 31 December 2025. Where projects have a capacity below the threshold of 100MW, developers have the option of using the process set out in Section 35 of the Planning Act to request that the Secretary of State considers their project for determination under the NSIP regime. The Government intends to introduce a new power through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to allow the Secretary of State to disapply requirements for a ‘nationally significant’ project to seek consent under the NSIP regime. This is in effect a ‘reverse Section 35’;
• Undertaking a consultation on the adequacy of existing permitted development rights and the introduction of other forms of small-scale onshore wind deployment;
• Updating the PPG to signal that greater flexibility in operational consent durations and the commencement of development period may be available where appropriate;
• Consulting, laying and designating an updated Energy NPS and new onshore wind policy by the end of 2025 and an updated PPG in Autumn 2025. As part of this, the Government will also be engaging with policy owners to support updates to a range of signposted guidance material including best practice on LVIAs and potential alignment with Scottish guidance, Historic England’s guidance on commercial onshore wind energy development and historic environment, Natural England and RSPB’s guidance on bird collision risk and aligning with Scottish approaches and updating Guidance for the Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Turbines. It will also work with professional organisations including the RTPI  to provide updated guidance;
• Providing training and resource support to PINS, LPAs and statutory consultees in assessing applications given the knowledge  gap; 
• Delivering detailed guidance to developers and LPAs in the PPG on the re-powering and lifetime extension of existing sites. 

Networks and system planning

• Working with OFGEM, NESO and network companies to progress radical connections reform as set out in the Clean Power Action Plan; 
• OFGEM considering sharper obligations and incentives on network companies to hold them to account for changes in connection costs and timescales; 
• Exploring with OFGEM options to provide certainty on Transmission Network Use of System charges for generators;
• OFGEM and network companies continuining to review charging arrangements for supergrid transformers; 
• Delivering the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan across England, Scotland and Wales and Centralised Strategic Network Plan with transmission network recommendations to 2050.

Communities and public perception

• Embedding best practice principles of engagement into planning practice guidance in England to ensure that pre-application consultation is undertaken to the highest standards; 
• Considering mandating for the provision of community benefits for energy infrastructure in Great Britain. A working paper was published in May 2025;
• Taking ownership of and publishing an update to the 2014 community benefits protocol and formally adopting it as government guidance. This guidance was published on 4 July 2025 ;
• Reviewing the 2015 community electricity right included in the Infrastructure Act 2015. A working paper was published on this in May 2025;
• Great British Energy supporting locally owned renewable electricity projects through the delivery of the local power plan to roll out onshore wind projects and other renewables such as Solar PV;
• Publishing a net zero public participation strategy;
• Delivering targeted, strategic regional communications campaigns. Renewable UK will work with colleagues in Scotland and Wales and the wind industry to coordinate campaigns and develop a series of regional press and community communication briefings.

Aviation and defence

• Commissioning an annual survey of onshore wind impacts on aviation and defence infrastructure; 
• Developing best practice guidance on the use of non-disclosure agreements in radar mitigation scheme agreements when resolving aviation objections; 
• Coordinating a developer funded programme of trials to test a range of potential solutions to onshore wind turbine interference with MOD air traffic control radars; 
• Introducing a developer funded full time post in the MOD with responsibility for leading on strategic solutions to onshore wind turbine interference with air traffic control radar;
• Exploring creating a new post in the CAA with responsibility for providing neutral and objective advice for stakeholders and facilitating discussions to assist resolution of aviation safety concerns associated with proposed developments; 
• Reviewing and publishing updating CAP764 guidance to airports and considering whether additional best practice guidance is required to aid interpretation;
• Reviewing airspace regulations to consider options to require civil aerodromes to procure new primary surveillance radars that have wind farm mitigation capabilities; 
• Exploring the creation of a mitigation fund to issue financial support to civil airports who require radar upgrades; 
• Working with MOD and Scottish Government to implement a solution to unlock onshore wind capacity around Eskdalemuir Seismic Array and uphold necessary safeguarding and enforcing that updated approach. 

Finance and routes to market

• Establishing a joint industry-government 2030 pipeline and delivery group with the aim to improve how the Government can recognise and respond to key barriers to deployment across the UK; 
• Publishing its response to the CFD allocation round 7 consultation;
• The National Wealth Fund exploring potential structures to support onshore wind projects or portfolios with power purchase agreements where the end user does not have an investment grade credit rating; 
• Issuing an update on reformed national and zonal pricing proposals in the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements including treatment of legacy and transitional assets and continuing to work with industry on policy development.

Supply chains, skills and the workforce

• Working with Renewable UK to conduct a supply chain capability analysis for onshore wind;
• Considering expanding the clean industry bonus to support onshore wind supply chain investment in the UK; 
• Including onshore wind in the industrial strategy – this was published in June; 
• Monitoring and considering actions related to component transportation and construction, particularly in Scotland and Wales, and progressing actions through the Onshore Wind Council; 
• Supporting the development of the recycling and circular economy sector, working with Scottish Government; 
• Publishing the clean energy workforce strategy and exploring options for boosting skills and delivering on the needs of the onshore wind industry;
• Conducting new workforce monitoring to provide demographic data, and setting appropriate targets. 

The Government is establishing a new Onshore Wind Council to oversee the implementation of the strategy and track the onshore wind pipeline to 2030 and beyond.

Our team has extensive expertise in consenting onshore wind projects across the UK so please contact Liz Dunn or Cathryn Tracey if you have any queries about existing or pipeline schemes.