Energy Seminar – Week 8: What do we need to do to build onshore wind?
James Robottom
- Start Tuesday 28 Nov 2023 5:00pm
- Finish Tuesday 28 Nov 2023 6:30pm
- Venue Dyson Perrins Building
- Postcode OX1 3AN
- Download event slides - PDF (70.39 MB)
- Watch seminar recording (external site)
THIS IS AN IN PERSON AND ONLINE EVENT
Summary: Onshore wind in the UK is complex. It is a mature technology with a current capacity of close to 15GW. That is enough to power over 9.5 million homes which last year generated 11% of the UK’s electricity needs. With the first commercial wind farm being built in England in 1991 – it means we are in our fourth decade of onshore wind generation. Yet, with different planning rules across the devolved administrations, onshore wind is treated very inconsistently. This ranges from to an ambitious target of 20GW by 2030 in Scotland….to a de-facto ban in England.
Despite polling consistently showing that it is popular, the near decade long restriction in England, which has seen the industry grind to a halt, has cost UK bill payers an estimated £5.1bn last financial year 2022/23 –£182 for every UK household. The prize is clear, yet there remain several challenges to address to unlock the full potential of onshore wind. This lecture will give an overview of the opportunities and challenges of onshore wind development across the UK, with a special focus on policy, planning and community. We will explore the subtle nuances of planning policy in England which led to the de-facto ban and ask what needs to be done to not only build onshore wind, but to also once again encourage investment in the sector.
Speaker: James Robottom is Head of Onshore Wind at RenewableUK, the UK’s leading renewable trade association. James leads RenewableUK’s programme of work on onshore wind to realise the industry’s ambition of achieving 30GW of onshore wind by 2030, covering advocacy and policy for all things including planning, community, environment, and everything else that gets thrown his way. James has spent over a decade working in the energy industry, looking at energy, renewables and climate across communications, public affairs and policy for trade associations and membership bodies.