Onshore wind farms: Simon Hart on future of renewable energy
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OVO Energy has announced that it has signed two deals with onshore windfarms, which they say will help boost the industry as it powers thousands of homes. The company signed two new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with two new subsidy-free onshore wind generators. The green energy supplier has agreed contracts to buy renewable electricity from Genatec’s Pond Farm Wind project and Ambition Community Energy C.I.C., adding this would support “new build onshore wind generation in the UK”. With the Pond Farm Wind project being built in Norfolk, OVO has signed a three year contract that will power 740 homes annually with renewable wind energy.
Meanwhile, the supplier also signed a two year contract with Ambition Community Energy C.I.C. in Bristol which will power 3,400 homes annually with renewable energy from what will be England’s tallest wind turbine.
Steve Harris, VP of Energy, OVO said: “We’re committed to supporting investment in renewable energy generation across the UK, striving to bring more renewables onto the grid and taking huge steps towards reaching net zero.
“I am delighted that our new PPA contract structure is supporting new independent onshore wind generation, as we believe this technology has a key role to play in accelerating the UK towards a fossil fuel-free energy system.”
To help tackle fuel poverty in the UK, all profit from Ambition Community Energy C.I.C. will flow to the local community via community-led charity Ambition Lawrence Weston, which is working in one of the most deprived communities in the country.
As wholesale gas costs have skyrocketed in the past year, energy bills have risen to an unprecedented £2,500.
This has thrust millions of families into fuel poverty, which is where energy bills eat up a large percent of their income making it impossible to dedicate funds to other essentials, such as food shopping, rents, mortgages and other external bills.
According to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 7 million households have been in fuel poverty since October 1, which is when bills rose to unaffordable levels.
They warn that if the Government’s support ends in April, this figure could rise to 8.6 million.
Speaking of the deal with OVO, David Mack, managing director of Genatec, said: “We’re proud to be at the forefront of UK subsidy free wind and are very excited to be working with OVO on our latest project at Pond Farm.”
In a statement, OVO said that it “aims to stimulate further growth in the renewable energy sector where wind farms wouldn’t have been built without OVO’s support, moving the UK further towards its net zero targets.”
In MP Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review, onshore wind energy was hailed as “one of the fastest, lowest cost solutions to rapid delivery of net zero making the transition more affordable.”
However, this energy source has been controversial in the UK, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially rejecting plans to lift the de facto ban on construction.
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However, after facing significant pressure from Tory rebels, Mr Sunak pledged to relax the restrictions on building onshore wind farms in England, handing the decision back to local communities.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Chris Venables, head of politics at Green Alliance, previously said: “This Government concession does mark progress towards finally removing the ban on onshore wind in England.
“Putting people at the heart of decision-making is, of course, vital but across the country those same communities are facing eye-watering energy bills as the temperature outside plummets. This nationally-imposed veto on one of the cheapest, quickest ways to generate clean electricity needs to be removed as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Jess Ralston, Head of Energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) commented: “The ban on onshore wind has been a seven-year anomaly in UK energy policy, keeping household bills higher and the UK more dependent on foreign gas. Whether deployment speeds up will now come down to the detail of the planning rule changes.”
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