Analysts Welcome Labour’s Onshore Wind Planning Reform But Question Prices Claim

Energy analysts welcomed the Labour government’s lifting of the “de facto ban” on onshore wind but questioned claims of reducing prices. Plans unveiled by new Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Monday said the government is “committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030.” She said that an “absurd ban on new onshore wind farms” in England has been scrapped and energy projects will be given priority in the planning system. ‘De Facto Ban’ Previous rules under the former Conservative government in 2015 meant that any application to build wind turbines needed to have the clear backing of the community. In September last year, former Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Secretary Michael Gove loosened the restrictions in a bid to accelerate onshore wind projects where there is local support despite views of “a small number of objectors.”...