A new report published by RenewableUK (RUK) shows that the overall pipeline of onshore wind projects in the UK has increased by more than 4GW in the last twelve months, from 33GW in October 2021 to 37GW today.
The pipeline includes projects which are operational, under construction, consented or being planned.
The Onshore Wind EnergyPulse report shows that although only 0.34GW has gone fully operational in the last 12 months, the amount of capacity under construction or consented in the UK has increased by 1.1GW to 6.8GW.
The vast majority of projects are located in Scotland, accounting for 78% of the total pipeline.
If all projects in the pipeline were to be built, the UK could have 29.8GW of onshore wind capacity operational by the end of 2030, increasing to 34GW by the end of 2031, RUK said.
RUK chief executive Dan McGrail said: “We can’t tackle the energy crisis without onshore wind – it’s one of our cheapest sources of new power and once projects have the go-ahead they can be up and running within a year.
“Despite the Government publishing its Energy Security Strategy in April, Ministers still haven’t set a target for onshore wind in the UK and they’ve only tentatively opened up the conversation about removing the block on onshore wind in England.
“We need to see a commitment of at least 30GW of onshore wind by 2030 and local communities across the UK being given the chance to benefit from generation in their area where it has local support.”