Momentum, Challenges, and Opportunities in UK Onshore Wind

Derek Hastings, Director of Onshore Projects at Bute Energy, reflects of the latest issues and opportunities explored at the recent Onshore Wind Conference 2024.

It’s been two weeks now since the UK Onshore Wind Conference was held in Edinburgh on the 3^rd and 4^th of September and I thought I would take a minute to reflect on it.

This year felt different from previous years. The conference was different, being two days rather than one, but it was more than that. In contrast to last year’s Scottish Sector Deal excitement, this year was all about getting things done.

The discussions were infused with a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose. We were reminded that onshore wind is a mature technology and not the upstart, disruptive technology that it once was. This makes onshore wind a prime solution in the quest to reach net zero. The change in the UK Government and the immediate decision to reopen the English market has provided considerable impetus to our industry.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Onshore Wind Sector

There are challenges in the market: Lack of planning resource, grid availability times and the need to further develop the supply chain. There are, however, considerable opportunities. The recent CfD round, announced on the first day of the Conference, delivered pricing that is broadly acceptable to the market and to the consumer, and there seems to be a new willingness to solve the problems we face. This mechanism could be, with some tweaks, a key route to market tool in unlocking a lot of projects quickly. The new UK Government have stated their clear intention to improve the deployment of renewable energy. The ambitious targets set for the Taskforce give evidence to the desire to move at pace and the industry has signalled that it wants to rise to this challenge.

The asks from developers are reasonably simple: Consistency in the planning process, a clear and reliable income stream and the grid being available to accommodate new connections in a reasonable timeframe. Simple does not equate to easy, though. This is where the cooperation comes in with the Governments at UK and individual country level. As developers, we recognise that risk is a natural part of our business, but working within sensible timescales for grid and planning, aligned to a robust route to market process, really helps to make these acceptable to investors, too. There is a need for pace and we need to pull our resources together with the Government Renewable Energy Taskforce and other initiatives to move forwards.

Balancing Solar and Wind Energy for a Greener Future

We saw many solar projects achieve CfDs and we need a scenario where there is a mix of solar and onshore wind being successful. These technologies should be seen as complimentary rather than just as competitors. The use of collocation may be a way of optimising the use of the relatively scarce grid connections. We do also, however, really need to see rapid development in new grid deployments and this will need innovation and sensible planning decisions to move it forwards.

Looking around the UK, there is much to be done still in Scotland and now new opportunities are emerging in England, but don’t discount Wales. We in Bute have been advocating the tremendous opportunities in Wales for a number of years now and we genuinely believe that the great wind resource, skilled and willing workforce and the Welsh Government’s intention to decarbonise the economy are all reasons for optimism. A Welsh Sector deal would also be a realistic ambition to help secure the opportunities available.

So, in summary, yes, there is no doubt that onshore wind is back, and back with a bang! It’s incumbent upon all of us, in the industry and Government to keep the momentum going. 2030 is closer than we think!