Opinions on Wind Farms: Is the UK For or Against Them?

Are you trying to gauge opinions on wind farms in the UK? Join me as I explore whether the country is for or against wind farms in this deep dive into political and public opinion.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss’s leadership debate at the tail-end of 2022 sparked significant discussion on wind farms in the UK (particularly regarding whether new ones should be built or de-facto-banned).

But do the views of these two politicians reflect the wider opinions of their respective parties?

Are the public largely for or against new projects?

Does Labour have a different perspective on the issue?

Whatever you’re trying to find out, this rundown of opinions on wind farms in the UK will answer all your questions.

Let’s dive in.

Political Views

Political opinions on wind farms tend to be the loudest, so they’re first up in this review.

Before I get into the specifics, it’s important to note that public support for wind power doesn’t always align neatly with political party lines.

In this section, I’ll strictly be covering manifesto-based opinions.

Research shows that opinions on wind power aren’t necessarily split by political beliefs, even though some Conservative MPs, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, have been vocal critics of onshore wind development.

However, there seems to be broader support for offshore wind within the same political sphere. Let’s dig deeper into what the major political parties in the UK have to say about wind farms – both onshore and offshore.

Conservative

To put things simply, Conservative opinions on wind farms are complicated.

Conservative MPs used to be far more opposed to onshore wind than they are now.

This prompted former Prime Minister David Cameron to bring in a de facto ban in 2015. The ban meant that just 16 new turbines received planning permission between 2016 and 2020.

This marked an incredible 96 per cent drop compared to previous years, acting as a nail in the coffin for onshore wind in the UK.

This was before Sunak was appointed Prime Minister and decided to U-turn on his previously positive stance regarding onshore wind.

Ministers were previously stating that they would put policies in place to build more onshore wind farms to reach net-zero limits. But Sunak quickly backtracked to satisfy Tory voters who didn’t particularly want wind turbines near their properties.

Along with pushing back the ban on new petrol and diesel cars until 2035, it doesn’t seem as though the party has a Green policy in mind.

Is it creating a wedge between the two parties?

Some Conservatives believe that the party is sacrificing Green policy and ignoring the looming climate crisis.

Ed Miliband has even stated that:

The Tory leadership is way out of line with the British people, who do not want to see the consensus for climate and environmental action broken.

And with wind energy being incredibly clean and effective, several Tory peers are choosing to bite back.

For example, Lord Debden stated that ‘having a basic opposition to [onshore wind] is just not a sensible thing’.

It’s also worth mentioning that even previous Tory Prime Minister Theresa May has noted that the UK was ‘putting at risk its reputation as a leader in climate policy’.

It seems that the Conservative leaders are not taking a strong stance on climate matters and are instead creating a ‘wedge issue’ over wind policy.

When you factor in the current planning permission restrictions, which have effectively placed a de facto ban on new wind projects, it becomes easy to see that the leaders of the Conservative Party seem staunchly opposed to wind.

A U-turn on the horizon

It’s worth noting that Sunak made a significant U-turn on wind farms again in September 2023.

Political correspondence from September 3^rd shows that Sunak is planning to overturn the ban on building new wind farms.

This should free up councils to approve proposed turbines where there is broad public support. Although this isn’t a complete green light for new projects, it’s certainly an improvement on what’s currently in place.

An amendment table has also been put together by a group of Tories and backbenchers that has attracted signatures from ‘all wings of the party’.

If successful, removing these restrictions would certainly boost the amount of clean energy the UK could produce each year. And with that, the country is bound to come closer to meeting its net-zero obligations.

New beginnings with the rise of a Labour government

Labour’s policies have always been far more green-focused than those of the Conservative party. I’ll get to this in more detail in just a moment, but I just had to mention new developments to wind policy in the UK as of July 8, 2024.

Labour announced on this date that they would be removing the de-facto onshore wind ban that had been halting new projects since 2015. 

The restrictions came in the form of two footnotes to the National Planning and Policy Framework (NPPF) that allowed local authorities and communities to reject new proposals.

While this might sound reasonable in theory, they could be rejected for virtually any reason under these guidelines. So, these footnotes essentially halted any progress for new wind projects as developers found it incredibly difficult to obtain planning permission.

Labour’s decision to remove this de-facto ban marks a major shift in the UK’s energy policy. It also introduces several new opportunities for landowners and developers. By reshaping the UK’s renewable energy landscape with new projects, it’s hoped that Labour can meet its goal of doubling onshore wind capacity by 2030.

Public

Public opinion on wind farms is far more favourable than the Conservative party tends to admit.

To start with, 80 per cent of people in the UK support the use of onshore wind energy, with half of these strongly supporting it.

From polling results, it’s said that only 4 per cent of people in the UK oppose onshore wind energy (with just 1 per cent strongly opposing).

Polling by Survation (that was commissioned by RenewableUK) proves that there is overwhelming public support for new wind projects.

An impressive 76 per cent of people claim that they would support new projects in their area.

If I focus on Conservative voters, it’s interesting to see that 84 per cent who backed the party at the previous election support new projects to slash energy bills.

It’s tricky to say whether this support is born from the increase in energy prices around the country or not, but the increase in support for projects is an undeniable positive from a climate standpoint.

To further support this point, an Oxford Brookes University study has shown that people overestimated opposition to turbines in their area five-fold.

So, the ‘Not in My Backyard’ feelings are likely far less intense across the country than people might expect.

Of course, there is a small subsection of the population that wouldn’t ever want to live near a wind farm. However, I’m seeing evidence that these numbers are decreasing year on year.

The other side of the coin

There are members of UK communities that oppose the noise generated by turbines.

But overall, there’s far more support for wind power in the UK than the Conservative leadership was touting, even a year ago.

I’ve also noticed from my own experience that opposition to wind power has decreased significantly since the 1980s.

As more wind farms have popped up, landowners have started to see them as a way to generate additional revenue.

Plus, new technology means that the average turbine is far less disruptive and more aesthetically pleasing than ever before.

Are There Better Sources of Renewable Energy for the UK?

Due to the UK’s abundant wind resources, building wind turbines is a relatively efficient and cost-effective way of producing energy.

Commercial projects require a substantial upfront investment to build. But they tend to recoup this investment within 10 to 15 years.

You could argue that hydroelectric power, natural gas and solar power are also viable alternatives to wind in the UK.

But based on its efficiency and abundance, wind typically comes out on top.

Final Thoughts

The general public’s support for wind farms is a good sign that the government may eventually meet its net-zero goals. Planning permission regulations are loosening quickly. So, it’s hoped that developers can initiate new projects more quickly and with greater ease than ever before.

By reducing our reliance on foreign gas, the price of energy should also plummet in due course. This will take several years to fully come to fruition. But increasing our investment in renewables will only benefit the average Brit. And who wouldn’t want that?

Are you interested in hosting a renewable energy project on your land (or already have one)? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Lumify team. We can help you maximise the rental income you receive and demystify the process of setting up a project.

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