No one lives forever – we are all mortal. You know that, we know that. But one statistic we read in an article this week made the team’s minds boggle:

It would take almost 4,700 years for England to build enough onshore windfarms to help meet the UK’s clean energy needs unless the government lifts an effective block on new turbines, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

4700 years may be a conservative estimate too given the fact that only 17 small-scale onshore wind farms have been approved in the UK since 2015.  War-torn Ukraine has developed 100 times more in that time span. The output of these 17 projects is meagre too – just 6.7 megawatts.

This slowness is ascribed to one main thing – planning restrictions and outright bans.

Renewable UK, a trade group for the industry, has been approached by:

“Many businesses, farmers and communities that want to build onshore windfarms in order to cut their energy bills but have been left “frustrated” by the restrictions” Robottom said.

“All we’re asking for is for is a level playing field in which onshore wind is treated like any other type of infrastructure as it goes through the planning system, with each application considered on its own merits.”

Obviously none of us will be alive in 4700 years but 2030, just seven years hence, will see most of us still breathing and this date gives us a contextual milestone.

National Grid’s influential industry forecast report, the Future Energy Scenarios, estimates that onshore wind capacity needs to increase to more than 30 gigawatts across Great Britain by 2030.

Do you think this is attainable and likely?

Join the debate on our active LinkedIn page.

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