Onshore Wind Farms

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I had thought that I was talking this afternoon about the repowering of wind turbines—that is, turbines that have completed their life in terms of their original blades and mountings, and which are out of the renewable obligation certificate period. The question for those sites is whether they repower, go merchant or close down. That is what the Question was about, but obviously, the issue of cable repowering is more about ensuring that the cables we have across the country can carry the new loads that we hope will be within their capability for the future. That is really a question of making sure that it is done in the most environmentally friendly way possible, but at the same time moving at considerable speed by changing the planning regulations as fast as possible.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

The planning presumption during the Tories’ 14 years in power was that if a single objector objected to an onshore power plant, it was rejected automatically. Can the noble Lord say whether the planning presumption will change in favour of onshore power plants rather than against them?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

Well indeed. The first thing, literally, that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero did upon the Labour Government taking office was to remove the ban on onshore wind and make sure that it could in future play a full part in the development of UK wind, as we have begun to see in the allocation rounds. It is a crying shame that onshore was effectively banned for such a long time and is only now recovering.