Onshore wind powering heat pumps in the UK could drastically reduce household bills and emissions, according to a new report commissioned by climate charity Possible and authored by Regen.
The report finds heating homes using heat pumps powered by community-owned, local wind power could reduce heating costs by around a quarter, compared to the average cost of gas-powered heating in 2023.
Adding batteries and rooftop solar would increase the potential savings, making clean heat nearly a third cheaper than gas heating.
Powering heat pumps with local onshore wind and solar would also maximise emissions reductions, cutting carbon by up to 90% compared to gas heating, and would also produce lower emissions than running heat pumps on grid electricity, according to the study.
The report authors identified 3700 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England are within 1km of an area with good onshore wind resources, pointing to the potential to alleviate fuel poverty by using this model.
The report also outlines how such schemes can generate surplus energy, bringing down domestic electricity bills alongside heating costs, or generating revenue for the community.
However, the report notes to make this model an option for communities across the country which would like to generate their own cheap, clean electricity to cut heating costs, there are significant policy barriers which the government would need to remove.
These include England’s “overly restrictive” planning regime, which remains a serious barrier for new onshore wind projects in England, even those with community support.
The Labour Party has committed to overturning the de-facto ban on onshore wind projects in England as one of its first acts if elected to government.
There is also a need for low-cost finance and greater support for communities to get schemes going and meet upfront costs.
Senior campaigner at climate charity Possible Alethea Warrington said: “Powering clean heat with clean, cheap, local energy is the ultimate win-win: lower bills, lower emissions and warm homes.
“Now the government needs to remove the barriers stopping communities – and our climate – from benefiting from clean, secure and affordable heat.
“This means sorting out energy billing systems which make clean electricity more expensive than dirty gas, removing the planning blocks on new onshore wind in England, and supporting communities who want to get going on their own local energy and heat projects.
“It is clear that we need to get off gas as quickly as possible, to keep people warm, cut energy costs and protect the climate.
“Using local wind power to do this can help us to meet net zero goals in a way that reduces economic inequality for some of our poorest communities.”
Planning and communities lead at Regen and one of the report’s co-authors Rebecca Windemer added: “We know that we need to go much further and faster on clean heat to hit our net zero targets, and our report gives the government the keys to a real solution.
“This report shows that locally owned turbines could slash bills while cutting carbon, but we desperately need policy change to enable communities to directly benefit from these projects.
“We want to see proactive policy support for community-owned generation schemes and the full removal of the current policy restrictions on onshore wind.”