TO BE PUBLISHED March 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for onshore wind in England.
Attendees will consider key immediate issues for policy, regulation and market growth in the context of the Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy, the Clean Power 2030 target for UK onshore wind, and potential implications of the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 results.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss what will be needed if the Taskforce’s key actions are to be met - including how the CP30 objective of an uplift in capacity for England and Wales might be realised - and priorities for the new Onshore Wind Council in implementation, alongside regulators, funding institutions, and specialist government agencies.
Planned areas for discussion include implementation timelines and sequencing, looking at finance and contractual mechanisms, and regulatory steps needed to translate strategy into investable projects. We expect this to include anticipated implications of the CfD AR7 auction and recent changes to the regime for market certainty and prospects for repowering existing sites.
Further sessions will examine project pipeline requirements such as grid connection readiness, planning and consenting challenges, strategies for community engagement, and environmental requirements.
We expect delegates to assess strategic measures needed to sustain market growth and domestic capacity, including the potential role of public investment vehicles - such as Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund in leveraging private capital - reform to the Clean Industry Bonus ahead of CfD AR8, and implications of the Industrial Strategy and Clean Energy Jobs Plan for supply chain, skills and regional clusters. Practical steps and best practice approaches to support innovation, workforce development, and broad-based industry resilience, will also be considered.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- policy:
- Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy recommendations - practicalities for achieving CP30 uplift for England and Wales
- alignment of sectoral plans with the Clean Energy Sector Plan and Modern Industrial Strategy - political sentiment
- sector growth:
- investor and market confidence - assessing reforms to CfD for AR7 - implications of AR7 outcomes for repowering and new sites
- National Wealth Fund, GBE and routes to market
- regulation, planning and consenting:
- next steps for new onshore wind projects - NSIP status for large projects - environmental assessments - coordinating consenting with planning reform
- system integration:
- grid connection readiness and capacity - progress on electricity market reform - coordination with infrastructure providers - aligning with the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan
- community engagement:
- models for local ownership and sharing benefits - approaches to secure public support and address opposition - the Community Electricity Right - Local Power Plan priorities
- supply chain and skills:
- changes to the Clean Industry Bonus ahead of CfD AR8 - growing regional clusters and onshoring component manufacture - the Clean Energy Jobs Plan and workforce development
- financing and innovation:
- private investment and blended finance - routes to market including power purchase agreements - innovation in financing structures and project delivery
