Onshore wind is up to ten times cheaper than gas, if the Prime Minister cared about the cost of living crisis he would lift the ban, says Bath MP.

10 November 2022

During the Prime Minister’s statement regarding COP27 on Wednesday the 9th of November, Sir Ed Davey asked why the Government has banned onshore wind, one of the cheapest and most popular forms of renewable energy.

Sunak was quick to dismiss the question, not mentioning the ban on onshore wind in his reply.

Since 2015, the planning system in England intentionally restricts the development of new onshore wind. The maximum installed capacity of wind farms granted planning permission between 2016-2021 is just 2.6% of those granted permission between 2009-2014.

The UK still gets around 40% of its energy from gas power, but onshore wind is up to ten times cheaper. The latter costs just £42 for a unit of electricity (per megawatt hour) compared to up to £539.59/MWh for gas on the wholesale market.

Onshore wind can be built within months, and 5GW of onshore wind is currently awaiting planning approval. If fast tracked, this could bring down household energy bills dramatically this winter, helping to ease the cost of living crisis.

It is also one of the most popular forms of energy, 72% of people who live within five miles of a wind farm support building more. 77% of the UK public think the new government should use new wind and solar farms to reduce electricity bills, and 76% support building renewable energy projects in their area.

The Liberal Democrats support lifting the ban on onshore wind, not only to achieve net zero, but also to drive down household bills.

Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath, commented:

“Time and again the Prime Minister shows himself to be a Climate Action delayer. Onshore wind is the cheapest form of renewable energy but because of the ideological block from some Conservative MP dinosaurs, the Prime Minister is not up for making the right choice to save the planet and people.

“This government promises a lot of net zero action but delivers too little. The delivery of our net zero targets is not on track. We need a government that is one hundred percent committed to net zero delivery, not just warm words.”