RWE quits English onshore wind

RWE Innogy has abandoned onshore wind farm development in England due to changes in government planning policy and subsidy regimes.

Apart from the under-construction Batsworthy Cross and Goole Fields 2 due online this year, the Swindon-based company said it has canned all other English wind farms projects in development.

RWE has written off £5-10m in development costs on nine English onshore wind projects since Communities Secretary Greg Clark’s Written Ministerial Statement last June giving locals “the final say” on onshore wind.

The success rate for planning approvals for onshore wind has fallen to around 23%, it said.

RWE Innogy UK head of onshore wind Mike Parker said the company’s approximately 400MW pipeline of projects in the planning or development stages is restricted to Wales and Scotland.

Those 10-12 projects have also been put on hold pending further clarity on future for onshore wind via the Contracts for Difference regime. Parker said the company has laid off 10 employees as a result of the changes, or around a quarter of its onshore wind team.

RWE has just six remaining onshore wind projects with a clear route to market via either the RO or the Contracts for Difference schemes: Brechfa Forest West, Clocaenog Forest and Mynydd y Gwair in Wales, Batsworthy Cross and Goole Fields 2 in England and Bad a Cheo in Scotland.

The company is also considering developing the up to 50MW Glen Kyllachy in Scotland if DECC allocates CfDs for onshore wind in future auction rounds.

RWE called for DECC to reintroduce support for onshore wind, adding at current UK power prices it could not make a return even with projects featuring 200-metre turbine tip heights on Scottish sites with high wind speed.

The UK currently constitutes around a third of Innogy’s business but slowing growth prospects have impacted the market significantly.

RWE Innogy chief executive Hans Bunting said it was looking at four main areas to expand: onshore wind in Ireland, USA and Turkey plus solar PV in southern Turkey.

Bunting said Innogy is unlikely to make “big acquisitions” in these areas but has not ruled out making a bid for Irish wind developers.

Image: Goole Fields 1 (RWE)