A new tailwind for onshore wind?

Wind is an abundant source of renewable energy. Whilst the UK has been the world's champion in deploying offshore wind capacity and Womble Bond Dickinson advised on the first commercial onshore wind farm built in the United Kingdom - Delabole, a de facto ban since 2015 prohibited the development of onshore wind projects in England. But this is about to change. 

The UK government has set a new mission to make the UK a Clean Energy Superpower. Part of this mission is to decarbonise the energy system by 2030 - this is the Clean Power by 2030 Action Plan (CP30). Increasing onshore wind capacity from 15 to 30 GW by 2030 sits at the core of CP30. To achieve this target, the new government has taken several important steps, from lifting the de facto ban, to the Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy. Let's find out more.

Ending the de facto ban: The Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025

The explanatory memorandum notes that, for onshore wind, planning changes in 2015 and 2016 introduced a de facto ban in England, resulting in the pipeline of projects reducing by over 90%, with less than 40MW consented and becoming operational in the intervening period.

In effect, the 2015 changes introduced two “stringent planning tests” into the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which were used by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to assess applications for onshore wind energy projects under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA). The 2016 changes amended the Planning Act 2008 and removed onshore wind from the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Planning (NSIP) regime, ensuring that all decisions about onshore wind farms of any size in England had to be made under the local planning process.

This meant that this technology was not fully available to support decarbonisation, something that the new Labour government pledged to change and followed up with a new policy statement on onshore wind published on 8 July 2024. This lifted the "ban" on onshore wind that had been in place in England since 2015.

The order amending again the Planning Act 2008 to bring onshore wind generating stations, with a generating capacity of over 100 megawatts (MW), back into the NSIP regime for England was ‘made’ on Monday, 9 June 2025, and it comes into effect on 31 December 2025.

Recognising that in some circumstances the individual nature of a project or site may mean using a different planning regime may be more appropriate, the government is seeking to ensure consenting flexibility.

Where projects will have a capacity below the 100MW threshold, developers have the option of using the process set out in Section 35 of the Planning Act 2008 to request that the Secretary of State considers their project for determination under the NSIP regime.

Additionally, the government intends to introduce a new power, in effect a ‘reverse Section 35’, in which projects that would otherwise be deemed as nationally significant, could instead seek planning consent via local planning authorities under the TCPA.

New strategy to kickstart an onshore wind revolution

The government has estimated that under the extant policy environment, it typically takes between four and nine years for an onshore wind project to go from inception through to operation. At the same time, attrition rates can be high and the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) analysis of grid connection data suggests that as many as 70% of projects that are in scoping do not go on to become operational.

With the legislative changes now in place and coming into effect later this year, the government also launched the Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy, a plan to unlock the barriers to delivering the required 29GW of onshore wind by 2030 (a near doubling of onshore wind capacity) in line with CP30. That includes driving ambitious reforms to planning, grid connections, and routes to market, while building the supply chains and skilled workforce needed. 

The strategy sets out the conclusions of the Taskforce and contains 42 agreed actions for government and industry to facilitate rapid deployment across Britain and repowering of existing sites. It has a multi-territorial scope, focusing on England but also recognising the importance of addressing the barriers to onshore wind development across the UK. A new Onshore Wind Council is established to oversee the implementation of the strategy and to develop the further actions likely needed to get us to the CP30 capacity range.

The key planning and consenting actions (some new and some already announced), are summarised below.

Onshore wind data tool and pipeline

One of the priorities of the government is the implementation of a prototype data tool to support LPAs, NGOs and statutory consultees to monitor the pipeline of onshore wind projects. The tool will assist the government to identify restrictions for example, on connections and planning and decide and implement the most appropriate interventions within the next 12-18 months to unblock these barriers.

Environmental assessment

The government will replace the current system of environmental assessment with Environmental Outcomes Reports (EORs). It will publish a roadmap to bring forward EORs, in consultation with devolved government. This roadmap will set out clear transitional arrangements.

The government will also establish a Nature Restoration Fund to pool contributions from developers to fund larger strategic interventions environmental improvements for protected sites and species. This will reduce the need for individual site level assessments where an Environmental Delivery Plan is in place that addresses relevant environmental obligations at a strategic scale. These measures form part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently progressing through Parliament and expected to receive Royal Assent before the end of this year.

Permitted development rights

The government recognises that evolutions in onshore wind turbine technology and increased demand for small-scale onshore wind turbines may allow for an update of the permitted development rights for onshore wind. It will launch a consultation to seek views on whether the existing permitted development right is fit for purpose and explore other forms of small‑scale onshore wind deployment, including in relation to community-owned onshore wind, to support the decarbonisation of agriculture or other forms of heavy industry, or to consider onshore wind repowering and replacement.

Updated Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) and National Policy Statement (NPS)

The government will update the PPG to signal that greater flexibility in operational consent durations may be available where appropriate. In addition, it will amend the PPG to signal that flexibility in relation to the commencement of development period may be available where appropriate. The government commits to publishing updated PPG in Autumn 2025.

The government ran a consultation on the revised draft NPSs for energy infrastructure which closed on 29 May 2025. This includes several material changes to the draft updated energy NPSs to reflect the new policy for onshore wind. Proposed amendments to EN-1 seek to bring onshore wind into the policy general guidance. Section 1.3 "Scope of the [NPS]" states that when the Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025 takes effect: "this will include onshore wind and solar generating stations in England only where they generate more than 100MW'" The draft NPS is clear that any onshore wind generating stations located in Wales, (regardless of capacity), will still be decided by the relevant Welsh authority. A new section in EN-3 addresses the impacts, considerations and other matters specific to onshore wind to support the assessment and determination of onshore projects.

It is expected that the revised NPSs, including new onshore wind policy, will be designated by the end of 2025.

Repowering

The Strategy contains support for repowering and lifetime extension of existing onshore sites as this provides a real opportunity to maximise benefits from existing projects by enabling them to replace older turbines with newer, more efficient models, increasing capacity without increasing land use. The NPPF makes clear the benefits of re-using existing onshore wind and other renewable sites.

The government will include detailed information to developers and planning authorities in updated PPG on how this policy should be interpreted for onshore wind.

Community benefit

The Strategy indicates that feedback to a May 2025 working paper which sought further evidence on shared ownership, will support a "formal review of the Community Electricity Right", with the government's policy position set out thereafter.

Whilst the Strategy acknowledges that the wind industry pioneered community benefits, it also states that the government is considering mandating community benefits for energy infrastructure, and if taken forward to legislate for provisions to come into force from late 2027.

On 4 July the government published an update to the 2014 Community Benefits Protocol and formally adopted it as government guidance for England: Community benefits guidance for onshore wind in England, and Resource kit. (The section on community benefits was removed from the Community engagement good practice guidance for England, and is now included in the guidance.)

Further updates to relevant guidance

The government will engage with the relevant policy owners to support the necessary updates including, where feasible and appropriate, alignment with contemporary approaches that are in place in the Devolved Administrations. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Reviewing best practice guidance on landscape and visual impact assessments, including considering alignment with guidance currently in place in Scotland
• Working with Historic England to update their guidance on commercial onshore wind energy development and the historic environment
• Working with Natural England and the RSPB to review existing guidance on bird collision risk and consider the potential to adopt or align with contemporary approaches in Scotland
• Updating Guidance for the Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Turbines (ETSU-R-97) – the relevant consultation closes on 29 August 2025.

A tailwind for onshore wind

The government's strategy is ambitious. In addition to the planning and consenting actions, it contains actions in other essential areas, including networks and system planning; aviation and defence; finance and routes to market; and supply chain, skills and workforce.

The government's support to onshore wind does not stop in the lift of the de facto ban and the Strategy. The onshore wind boost envisaged in CP30 is further supported through two key recent policy documents: the Industrial Strategy with a Clean Industries Action Plan; and the ten-year infrastructure strategy. Many of the actions in the Strategy are also crystallised in these two policy documents. Onshore wind features as one of the 'frontier clean industries' and will benefit from targeted catalytic public investment driving innovation and growth, and in the case of major infrastructure from the new approach on delivering projects with the help of the National Infrastructure and System Transformation Authority (NISTA).

Is this enough?

The industry has welcomed the clear priority which the Strategy gives to resolving planning barriers and other obstacles. The data from the connections reform package also show positive signs for projects moving forward with the technology being undersupplied in England. It is to be seen how renewed deployment of onshore wind will advance in the next 12 to 18 months. It is clear the government is in a race to put in place the right interventions.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact us, or your usual contact at Womble Bond Dickinson.