UK: New Onshore Wind Installations Fell by nearly 80% in 2018

New figures released by RenewableUK show that new onshore wind installations fell by nearly 80% in 2018 to the lowest level since 2011. Last year 598MW of new onshore wind was installed, made up of 263 turbines at 54 sites, down from a record 2,666MW installed in 2017.

These news add to the gap in clean energy thanks to the cancellation of Hitachi to buld a new nuclear power plant in Wales. Building on work by the Committee on Climate Change, RenewableUK analysis shows a gap of over 55TWh needed by 2030 – equivalent to over 15% of annual demand – due to the closure of existing nuclear plants and other ageing power stations in the 2020s.

The downturn in new capacity in 2018 is largely the result of changes in Government policy to block onshore wind from schemes that support renewable energy deployment.

Commenting on the new figures, RenewableUK’s Executive Director Emma Pinchbeck said: “Onshore wind is now the cheapest source of new power for UK billpayers, and it is supported by more than three-quarters of the British public. We have ready-to-go onshore wind that can help close the gap between the low carbon power we need and the amount Government policy is actually delivering, and this week’s announcement on nuclear power has made this mammoth task even harder. "