Octopus Energy Generation has identified 2.3GW of potential new British onshore wind energy.
Developing all this new onshore wind energy would be the equivalent of building a large nuclear power station. It would provide enough home-grown, cheap, green energy for 1.85m homes – or the combined population size of Birmingham and Manchester.
Through its match-making platform Winder, Octopus aims to accelerate the slow development of onshore wind energy in the UK. It matches available land with community support, grid capacity and wind data.
Building turbines on all of the identified locations would unlock investments of over £3.4bn, leading to a renewables-powered wave of growth and creating more high-quality green jobs across the UK.
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, commented: “This energy crisis is caused by our dependence on gas. To end it and make sure we never find ourselves in the same position again, we need to build more cheap, green energy – and quickly.
“The current system means it takes seven years on average to build and connect a new onshore wind turbine – but it’s possible to build it in a year. Winder shows we can massively speed up this process and make a difference by next winter. It’s possible to build more wind turbines where people want them, helping to end our fossil fuel reliance, lower energy bills and unleash economic growth.”