The UK government changed drastically in early July as the Labour Party came into power ending 14 years of Tory rule. The more liberal Labour Party’s presence is already being felt as a new policy statement on wind energy is set to reverse almost ten years of UK policy. The policy statement outlines the government’s intent to repeal a de facto ban on onshore wind energy and increase onshore production substantially. The policy statement states:
“Delivering our clean power mission will help boost Britain’s energy independence, save money on energy bills, support high-skilled jobs and tackle the climate crisis. We are therefore committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030. That means immediately removing the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, in place since 2015. We are revising planning policy to place onshore wind on the same footing as other energy development in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).”
The change in policy took effect immediately and is expected to be confirmed by Parliament on July 18, 2024. Under the previous government, not only was the creation of new onshore wind production effectively banned, but offshore wind subsidies were not enticing enough to garner any bids in 2023. The combination of these policies meant that the production of new wind energy projects was at a standstill. This is likely to be one of many changes brought by Labour to UK energy policy and ESG policy more broadly and we’ll be watching and blogging on further developments as they occur.
Our members can learn more about developments in the energy sector here.
If you aren’t already subscribed to our complimentary ESG blog, sign up here for daily updates delivered right to you.
