What Are the Chances Of Getting Planning Permission For Extensions?
 Topic: landowners |  Read Time: 6 mins |
 Landowner type: All |  Energy: Onshore wind |
6th August 2024Have you been wondering about your chances of getting planning permission for a wind farm extension?
In this blog, I will walk you through everything you need to know about getting planning permission for a wind farm in the UK (and why it’s so hard to get). Since 2015, it’s become increasingly difficult to get planning permission for extensions.
While Labour’s recent 2024 announcement lifting the de-facto wind farm ban is overwhelmingly positive, planning permission can still be tricky to navigate for first-timers.
So, if you’re a landowner or developer looking to invest in a new renewable energy project, you’re probably wondering whether you’ll be able to get planning permission for your wind farm.
Here’s the good news – extending a current project is far easier than setting up a new one.
But just how much easier is it? Is starting a new wind farm utterly out of the question?
Well, let’s find out as we explore current planning permission guidelines and how they’re set to change.
What Are the Chances Of Getting Planning Permission for Extensions?
If you’re the kind of person who appreciates hard data, then you’re in luck.
I’ve carried out research across all UK councils that outlines just how difficult getting planning permission for extensions currently is.
According to Friends of the Earth, onshore wind approvals have dramatically fallen since the government removed subsidies.
If you’re still not convinced, councils in England granted planning permission for just 16 new wind farms across the country between 2016 and 2020.
That’s a staggering 96 per cent decrease from the 435 approvals between 2011 and 2015.
From my own findings, I discovered that only 20.8 per cent of councils have identified suitable areas for wind energy in their Local Plans. In fact, 28.5 per cent don’t have a Local Plan at all and 14 per cent have explicitly considered and been unable to identify a suitable area for wind development in their Neighbourhood Plan.
The real issue? Too many councils are failing to explicitly consider areas as suitable for wind energy development, which simply isn’t good enough.
The latest Neighbourhood Plans show that only 2.7 per cent of councils identified suitable areas in their updates – so, we still have a long way to go.
But as Labour is introducing guidelines that may remove the need for local authorities altogether, getting extensions could be a breeze down the line. By bringing planning decisions to the national level and giving the Energy Secretary final say, hold-ups should be seriously reduced.
What is Repowering vs. Extending a Wind Farm (and Why Is This Important?)
Under the law, wind farm extensions and repowering are essentially the same things.
But what actually happens on-site is slightly different – and both scenarios will involve a change in planning permission.
If this sounds slightly confusing, let me give you some context.
When a developer builds an onshore wind farm in the UK, it typically receives planning permission that allows the wind turbines to remain in operation for 20–25 years.
After this time, developers must decommission the turbines and restore the land to its original condition.
This is usually acceptable to the wind farm developer and town planning officers as onshore turbines will have had a useful economic life during this time. Therefore, the length of planning permission mirrors the expected operational life of the wind farm.
But as wind turbine technology has significantly improved over the years. They’re highly efficient, and most turbines can remain operational past their planning permission cycle.
In some cases – for up to 35 years.
This has created a unique situation whereby many wind farms are reaching the end of their planning permission lifecycle. However, the developer wishes to continue operating the turbines instead of decommissioning them.
In other cases, the wind farm may have performed significantly worse than expected.
When this happens, the developer may want to replace the original turbines and continue operating to get a decent return on their investment.
In basic terms, repowering a wind farm essentially means:
- Extending the life cycle of existing turbines
- Replacing/repositioning turbines
- Adding additional turbines
In these situations, planning permission for extensions is typically less strict than it would be for new onshore wind farms.
But is this fair to those who want to invest in new projects?
Well, let’s find out.
Why Is Starting a New Wind Farm So Complicated?
Getting a wind farm extension and repowering a site are similar, and it’s typically easier to get planning permission for these over building a new project. This was especially true after 2015, when David Cameron introduced a de-facto ban on onshore wind with changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.
However, as of July 2024, Labour has removed this de-facto ban and looks to bring planning back to the national level. So, most final decisions will lie with the new Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. All in all, it’s great news for lovers of onshore wind.
In case you were wondering, the additions to the policy framework under the Conservatives made planning permission extremely difficult to get because:
- The local council needed to pre-designate certain areas as suitable for wind turbines. At present, only 25 per cent of councils have done so and 60 per cent have yet to look into suitable areas.
- Local communities needed to be supportive of new projects, which meant they could be vetoed for any reason.
So, while old regulations were too restrictive to give new projects space to start, new guidelines look a lot more positive.
Are Wind Farms Profitable?
If you’re reading this article because you’ve been thinking of setting up your own wind farm, then you may be wondering if it’s actually a profitable venture.
And I’ll answer that question with ‘yes and no’.
While wind farms will eventually become profitable, they take between nine months and two years from the receipt of planning permission to become fully operational.
Most wind farms take between nine and 15 years for site developers to fully recover their initial investment. So, wind farms commissioned in 2004–2005 only started making a profit around 17.5 years after they received planning permission.
That’s certainly playing the long game.
Although your wind farm will eventually be profitable, you’ll need to consider that most wind farms will reach the end of their original planning permission just as they’re starting to see decent returns.
Developers will only have a narrow window of opportunity to realise a satisfactory return on investment.
For this reason, I feel that councils should extend the guaranteed period of planning permission for projects.
Not only will this take the pressure off developers investing in renewable energy projects, but the resulting turbines will provide landowners with a diversified source of income.
A win-win all around.
Is the Current Situation With Planning Permission for Extensions Productive?
There’s generally a strong case for repowering, as there are generally fewer hoops to jump through when compared to new projects. I’m hoping that the recent changes to planning permission guidelines will make it far easier for the UK to meet its net-zero obligations.
Of course, I’m not entirely sure how this will play out in practice. However, Labour’s willingness to double onshore wind power in the UK by 2030 is certainly a great sign of things to come. And by making planning permission easier to achieve for wind projects, it should give developers and landowners far more confidence overall.
Looking to the Future on Getting Planning Permission for a Wind Farm Extension
While getting planning permission for a wind farm extension has been virtually impossible for new projects to achieve in the past, there IS light at the end of the tunnel. With the Conservative government out, Labour has already set its new net-zero plan into motion by removing the de-facto ban on onshore wind as of July 2024.
“The government will unlock the potential of onshore wind by bringing consent in line with other infrastructure. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind, with 8GW of offshore wind currently under construction. By 2023 the government is set to increase renewables capacity by 15%. This should support the UK’s commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.“
Now, despite the good news, there are still local communities that consider these projects an eyesore. But unlocking our full potential for onshore wind is crucial for driving down energy prices and boosting our electricity supplies nationwide. And it’s hoped that seeking local partnerships for ‘supportive communities’ through incentives may soften the public’s view of onshore wind.
Luckily for us, recent polling shows that 74 per cent of Britons across all constituencies actually favour onshore wind. So, the future for wind development in the UK may be even brighter than we first thought.
Will we see more wind farms popping up over the country in the coming years? Only time will tell.
If you’re curious about your renewable energy project or need guidance on a wind farm extension, we’re here to help. Simply get in touch with the Lumify team, and we’ll be happy to speak with you.
