Morning, Tuesday, 1st July 2025
Online
This conference will explore the way forward for growth of the domestic onshore wind sector in the UK as the Government aims to double production of onshore wind energy by 2030.
With the Government intending to bring forward legislation in Spring 2025 to reintroduce onshore wind projects above 100MW in England back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) regime, it will be a timely opportunity to consider how the onshore wind sector can build on recent momentum, following the lifting of the de facto ban last year, moving towards the target of achieving clean power by 2030. Delegates will assess how policy proposals outlined in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan report in December 2024 might contribute to increasing operational capacity of domestic onshore wind in the UK.
In response to proposals in the updated National Planning Policy Framework, stakeholders will consider key issues with planning and consent for onshore wind projects at both a local and national level. Sessions will address concerns raised by stakeholders that bringing onshore wind under the NSIP regime might overly centralise decision-making power and assess the impact that setting the threshold at 100MW might have on ensuring sufficient consultation and decision-making at a local level for medium and larger projects. Delegates will assess strategies for ensuring that local expertise is not lost and to allow for meaningful community engagement in the development of schemes.
Sessions will also explore the potential for community partnerships and projects to realise local benefits from windfarms. Delegates will assess next steps for the Government’s Local Power Plan as part of Great British Energy and the future of co-owned and community-owned wind farms. We also expect discussion on priorities for improving grid connectivity to ensure that the grid is able to keep up with increased onshore production, in light of the formation of the new publicly owned National Energy System Operator.
