Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government’s aviation strategy will assume an increase in offshore and onshore wind deployment up to 2050 as the baseline operating scenario for aviation.

Our aviation forecasts do not make any assumptions about the underlying general energy mix. The Government, however, does undertake cross sectoral energy analysis of that nature. The locations of wind farms are considered through the planning process.

The Offshore Wind Sector Deal, published by Government in March this year, envisages up to 30GW of offshore wind deployment by 2030. An Aviation Management Board, in which the Department and relevant bodies such as NATS and CAA participate, has been established for the Government to work jointly with both the windfarm industry and aviation sector to find a solution which meets the needs of both industries and secures a safe airspace. This will ensure cross-Government coordination on radar and aviation policy matters. The Department will take account of the outputs of this work in developing aviation policy.