A pivotal moment for clean energy
The Onshore Wind Conference 2025 hosted in Edinburgh on 16-17 September came at a pivotal moment for the UK’s clean power ambitions with increasing political challenges, fresh policy updates and the need to address the longstanding barriers for the sector.
The conference kicked off with unabated optimism from Chris Stark CBE – Head of UK’s Mission for Clean Power at DESNZ summarising what has already been achieved in the first 15 months in office. The overarching message throughout the conference was that of full commitment to accelerating the delivery of onshore wind and reinforcing the message that clean energy is the fundamental route to industrial renewal.
Government commitment and vision
Day two saw Energy Minister, Michael Shanks MP return to the conference, fresh from his promotion at the cabinet reshuffle earlier in the month and telling attendees that he was glad to have retained his brief in Energy as he believes that “clean energy is the economic opportunity of the century and onshore wind is critical to this mission”. He went on to stress three aspects of the message from Government as important as we look ahead to fulfilling the mission to net-zero: Clarity, Breaking barriers and Collaboration. Each of these points in turn featured heavily across the various discussions throughout the two days in Edinburgh.
Eskdalemuir challenges and opportunities
One topic on everyone’s lips was that of Eskdalemuir and the work being done to overcome issues with the development of onshore wind within the 50km radius or ‘consultation zone’ of the Seismic Array in the Scottish Borders. It was discussed by many of the speakers on the main agenda with optimism for these challenges to soon be overcome and the opportunity to unlock an additional 5GW to 7GW of wind energy.
Community benefits and local expectations
Also discussed was the rising expectation from both local authority-level decision-makers and the communities directly affected that wind projects should deliver tangible benefits locally. Jobs, shared ownership models, community funds all making an appearance in discussions throughout the conference. The emphasis is not just on generating power, but also on how development can be inclusive and offer real, meaningful benefits to those living in the vicinity of a wind farm. Ensuring that the shift to renewable energy is equitable and that communities hosting turbines are not disadvantaged is critical. Skills should be invested in and developed locally, and supply chain opportunities must benefit the rural areas surrounding wind farm sites.
Repowering and lifetime extensions
In continuation of the same theme, the repowering and lifetime extensions of existing wind farms were also discussed and the importance of getting these schemes right in the context of our pursuit for more clean energy. As many of the existing wind farms approach maturity, decisions to repower (replace old turbines with newer ones), refresh components, or retire some outdated machinery is becoming central to the onshore wind industry. These projects bring technical, regulatory and financial complexity to the industry. It can also bring communication challenges, as when we are seeking to intensify the output from these existing sites, our plans can often result in larger turbines being proposed, and therefore, we open up further scrutiny locally on the benefits returned to the community from these wind farms.
A sector at a crossroads
The conference made clear that the sector is at a crossroads: the political will and ambitions are very much in place, but translating that into delivered projects, at scale will require continued focus on implementing policy, careful planning, robust financial commitments, investment in supply chains, and as always, maintaining a compelling narrative for communities that will directly benefit from onshore wind projects in their area. The next few years will be critical: they will determine whether the UK can meet targets for 2030 and onshore wind plays a vital role in our clean power transition.
To find out more or discuss Copper’s work in Onshore Wind or any of our Renewables projects, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Sam Cranston, Director of Energy or Tom Byrne, Head of Renewables.