13/10/2021 | 5 mins | Offshore wind

Poll shows majority of people in UK want planning system reformed to enable more onshore wind farms

13 October 2021 - RenewableUK press release


New independent polling commissioned by RenewableUK shows strong support for onshore wind, including reforming the planning system to enable more wind farms to be built.


70% of people agreed that the local planning system should broadly encourage the building of renewable energy projects like onshore wind, with only 9% opposed. Support was slightly higher (71%) among people already who live within five miles of a wind farm.


This polling puts wind in the sails of the Scottish Government, who are pursuing reforms to onshore wind planning following the coalition agreement between the SNP and Green Party. The polling shows that 79% of SNP voters believe the local planning system should broadly encourage the building of renewable energy developments like onshore wind, and 77% of SNP voters support the Green Party’s proposal of enabling larger, modern turbines which are more powerful and more cost efficient.


When asked specifically whether a project should go ahead if it has majority support among local people, 80% agreed UK-wide. Only 11% said total community consensus was needed, as it currently required in England. Conservative voters were even more in favour of this, with 82% stating the planning permission should be driven by the majority of people in communities which consent to a wind farm, as opposed to 9% who support a policy of enabling individuals in communities to veto development.


73% of people in the UK support replacing old onshore wind turbines with new ones when they reach the end of their natural lifespan. When asked directly asked whether they support installing modern turbines which are taller, more powerful and more cost-efficient, 68% of people remained supportive, with only 11% opposed.


The polls are published as RenewableUK unveils a new Onshore Wind Prospectus which sets out the economic and environmental benefits of this technology in terms of reducing bills, creating jobs, attracting investment and reducing carbon emissions by setting ambitious new deployment targets for 2030 in each UK nation. 


RenewableUK’s CEO Dan McGrail said:


“This polling shows that public support for onshore wind remains sky-high. That needs to be reflected in the way local authorities make decisions about new onshore wind projects in their area going forward.


“Onshore wind is one of our cheapest sources of new power, creating an escape route for bill payers from rocketing gas prices and delivering net zero at the lowest cost. It also has the potential to create tens of thousands of new jobs nationwide and attract tens of billions of pounds in investment in local communities.


“Our Onshore Wind Prospectus shows how we can maximise these opportunities by working closely with the UK Government and all four devolved administrations to deliver on more ambitious targets over the course of this decade This will enable onshore wind to play a key role in helping the Prime Minister to fulfil his pledge that the UK will generate all of its electricity from clean sources by 2035”.


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The benefits of Onshore Wind

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RenewableUK’s members are building our future energy system, powered by clean electricity. We bring them together to deliver that future faster; a future which is better for industry, billpayers, and the environment. We support over 400 member companies to ensure increasing amounts of renewable electricity are deployed across the UK and to access export markets all over the world. Our members are business leaders, technology innovators, and expert thinkers from right across industry.


2,030 people took part in the fully-weighted poll by Survation which was conducted in July.


The polling results tally with Government’s opinion polls published in May (BEIS Public Attitudes Tracker - Wave 37) which show that 70% of people support onshore wind.


Further polling by YouGov commissioned by RenewableUK published in May shows that 33% of people have a more positive opinion of onshore wind then they did five years ago. This is stronger amongst Conservative voters, 36% of which feel more positive, as well as people over 65 (37%), 18 to 24 year olds (36%) and those who live within five miles of a windfarm (40%).


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