New analysis by RenewableUK shows that building new onshore wind farms to reach the Government's target of 29GW of onshore wind by 2030 would save UK billpayers £3bn a year, compared to the cost of producing the same amount of electricity from new gas-fired power stations.

The analysis also shows that reaching the 29GW target would deliver nearly half a billion pounds a year to local communities. This includes £348m in business and property rates, as well as £145m in direct, long-term, annual community benefit funds.

The analysis appears not to factor in the capital expenditure of construction, and, of course, some form of backup or storage would be needed to cover the windless days, but as a side-by-side comparison it is instructive.

Around 70 per cent of the lifecycle spend by onshore projects already takes place in the UK, including building and operating wind farms, and this draws on a geographically diverse onshore wind supply chain. Research commissioned by RenewableUK shows that expanding this supply chain between now and 2050 could add up to £56bn in economic value (GVA) to the UK’s economy. so there are other factors that could be considered too.

Indeed, one option is to replace older turbines on existing wind farm sites with newer, more efficient models. Even replacing smaller turbines with larger models is popular, with polling released today by Copper Consultancy showing 70 per cent of people support the idea. This is based largely on real-world experience, as three-quarters of those polled live in or near an area which already has onshore wind farms.

The UK currently has 16.4GW of onshore wind fully operational, generating 12 per cent of the UK’s annual electricity needs, and the Government wants to see capacity increase in England and Wales from 4.2GW to 8.6GW by 2030. However, analysis by Aurora Energy Research shows that projects representing only half the capacity needed to meet the 29GW target have grid connection offers so far.

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