Rishi Sunak U-turns on Truss’s onshore wind planning reforms

‘Public overwhelmingly backs wind, but the government doesn’t want to hear it’, opponents say

A wind turbine in Scotland providing renewable energy. Farmers use their land to make additional income from wind power (Getty )

Just weeks after former prime minister Liz Truss performed a U-turn to ease onerous planning restrictions for onshore wind power projects, new prime minister Rishi Sunak has performed another about-turn on one of the UK’s cheapest forms of renewable energy.

The 360-degree revolution on onshore wind puts the Conservative Party back to the same stance it implemented almost a decade ago when David Cameron cut "the green crap" – a move which has added a total of £2.5bn to people’s energy bills since 2014.

During his earlier, failed leadership bid in which Ms Truss triumphed, Mr Sunak pledged to halt Conservative efforts to bring back onshore wind – a move which saw opposition parties accuse him of "economic illiteracy".

According to the International Energy Agency, solar and wind power top the list of the world’s cheapest methods of electricity generation, with the costs of setting up onshore turbines far lower than the expense required to put turbines out at sea.

Just four weeks ago, the Financial Timesreported that Treasury documents revealed the Truss administration would bring planning for onshore wind "in line with other infrastructure to allow it to be deployed more easily in England”.

But it now seems Mr Sunak will not go ahead with these reforms.

RenewableUK’s chief executive Dan McGrail urged Mr Sunak to allow onshore wind projects to go ahead to help tackle the cost of living crisis.

He told The Independent: “Cutting people’s energy bills and boosting energy security must be high on the prime minister’s agenda, so we’re keen to work with Mr Sunak and his colleagues to achieve this as fast as possible. That’s why we’re urging him to maintain the Conservatives’ commitment to lifting the block on onshore wind in England, as it’s one of our cheapest sources of new power, and it has the support of over 70 per cent of the public and over 80 per cent of Conservative voters.

"We welcome the fact that in his latest comments he recognised the importance of focussing on strengthening our energy security and his acknowledgment that that means more renewables as outlined in the 2019 Conservative manifesto".

The Green Party’s co-leader Carla Denyer said the development of onshore wind would provide a "vital source of energy to help tackle both the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis at the same time".

She told The Independent: "We know the public overwhelmingly backs new wind and solar farms in their local area in order to reduce their bills, yet the government simply doesn’t want to hear it.

"The government’s refusal to take the popular as well as economically and environmentally sensible thing to do is another sign that they are more motivated by placating their fossil fuel backers than by tackling climate change, lowering people’s bills or improving people’s quality of life.

"The answer is staring the government straight in the face, we urge it to listen immediately and lift this short-sighted and damaging ban on onshore wind."

Meanwhile Mr Sunak has backtracked on Ms Truss and her energy secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg’s lifting of the moratorium on fracking, burying the prospect of future shale gas wells in the UK.

Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Danny Gross said Mr Sunak’s decision to reinstate the fracking moratorium was "a fantastic victory for common sense, the environment and local communities across the country who have stood up to the threat of fracking."

He also called for the government to go ahead with reforms allowing more onshore wind projects to be built.

“The government must now focus on real solutions to the energy crisis including a street-by-street home insulation programme and developing the UK’s huge potential of onshore wind and solar energy production,” he said.