Key initiatives for the renewable energy sector: Insights from the Solar Roadmap and Onshore Wind Taskforce

The UK is accelerating its transition towards a low-carbon economy, with renewable energy at the forefront of its strategy to meet ambitious climate targets and ensure long-term energy security.

Two flagship initiatives, the Solar Roadmap and the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce, have been launched to unlock the full potential of solar and onshore wind energy.

These initiatives are not just about increasing capacity but are designed to overhaul regulatory frameworks, improve infrastructure, and foster innovation to create a more resilient and sustainable energy sector.

The solar roadmap: A comprehensive strategy to expand solar capacity

The Solar Roadmap sets out a strategic vision to scale up solar PV deployment across the UK, targeting a substantial increase in installed capacity by 2030. Importantly, it states that reaching the 45-47GW range for solar energy is achievable, although stressing this will require significant action. The policy paper presents 62 actions to be taken by Government and industry bodies.

Key initiatives under the solar roadmap:

• Enhanced financial incentives: to address the upfront capital costs that often deter solar adoption, the government plans to implement targeted subsidies and grants, particularly aimed at residential rooftops, commercial buildings, and community solar projects. These incentives are expected to reduce payback periods and stimulate demand.

• Streamlined planning and approvals: recognising that lengthy planning processes have historically slowed solar deployment, the roadmap proposes reforms to simplify planning permissions. This includes introducing national permitted development rights for certain types of solar installations and digitalising application processes to increase transparency and speed.

• Energy storage integration: one of the biggest challenges with solar power is its intermittent nature. The roadmap emphasises combining solar PV with battery storage systems, enabling energy to be stored during peak production and dispatched when demand is high or solar generation dips. This integration enhances grid stability and optimises energy use.

• Research and development: significant investments will be funnelled into R&D to drive innovations such as higher-efficiency solar cells, advanced materials (like perovskite solar cells), agrivoltaics (dual-use solar and agriculture), and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). This innovation pipeline aims to reduce costs and expand solar applicability beyond traditional rooftops.

• Planning reform: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are reviewing planning rules for overhead power lines on wooden poles, which currently require NSIP status if over 2km and 132kV or higher, due to their low visual impact. While the Solar Roadmap may not greatly affect the need for solar NSIPs (which are already supported by existing energy policy) it can help justify projects under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by highlighting the benefits of solar, including low-cost large-scale power, rapid construction timelines (as short as one year), and the potential to create up to 35,000 jobs by 2030. The Solar Council, a new government-industry forum, will oversee the roadmap’s implementation.

Implications for the renewable energy sector

The Solar Roadmap signals a shift toward decentralised energy generation, empowering consumers and communities to become energy producers. For the sector, this translates into a growing market for solar developers, equipment manufacturers, storage providers, and installers. Furthermore, enhanced storage integration opens up new business models in energy management and flexibility services, critical for balancing the grid as renewables scale.

The Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce: Revitalising a proven renewable resource

Launched in July 2024, the Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce was established to tackle persistent challenges that have limited the expansion of onshore wind farms in recent years, despite onshore winds status as one of the UK’s most cost-effective renewable technologies.

A year after the Taskforce was established, it set out a comprehensive plan in the form of the Onshore Wind Task Force Strategy which aims to overcome barriers to deployment, ensure sustainability and deliver socio-economic benefits by delivering up to 29 GW of onshore wind capacity by 2030.

The strategy presents 42 actions to overcome barriers of deployment which include the following:

• Planning and regulatory reform: the strategy calls for updating local and national planning policies to speed up project approvals. This involves clarifying guidelines to minimise uncertainty around environmental and community impact assessments, setting firm decision deadlines, and possibly granting greater powers to simplify smaller wind projects. Additionally, a 'Nature Restoration Fund' will be created to pool developer contributions for large-scale environmental improvements, reducing the burden of site-specific assessments.

• Grid infrastructure development: to accommodate an expected increase in onshore wind capacity, substantial upgrades to grid infrastructure are essential. The Strategy reinforces the Government’s urgent commitment to resolving grid challenges to support low-carbon generation like onshore wind. Key actions are already in progress, including collaboration with Ofgem, NESO, and network operators to advance radical grid connection reforms. Updated connection offers for projects before 2030 are expected between September 2025 and January 2026, with offers for post-2030 projects to follow by May 2026. Delivery of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (covering 2030-2050) is underway and scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, promoting a more coordinated approach to energy infrastructure planning. Building on this, the Centralised Strategic Network Plan will provide detailed transmission network recommendations through 2050 and is expected to be published in 2027.

• Supply chain enhancement: developing a resilient domestic supply chain is a strategic priority. This involves supporting local manufacturing of turbines and components, training a skilled workforce, and encouraging partnerships between industry and academia. Strengthening the supply chain will reduce dependency on imports, improve project timelines, and boost economic benefits.

• Community engagement and benefit sharing: recognising that local support is crucial for project success, the taskforce promotes models that enable community ownership or profit-sharing arrangements. These approaches aim to increase acceptance of wind farms and ensure that the economic benefits contribute directly to the host communities.

• NSIPs: the strategy has also announced the reintroduction of onshore wind projects into the NSIP regime, with an updated threshold of 100 MW effective from 31 December 2025. This allows large-scale projects to seek planning consent through the NSIP process, balancing local impacts with national decarbonisation goals. Projects under 100MW can continue using local planning but may request to be assessed under the NSIP regime via powers under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008. To maintain flexibility, a new power will enable the secretary of state to exclude certain projects from the NSIP process—effectively a "reverse" section 35.

• Permitted development rights: permitted development rights currently exclude turbines on commercial sites and impose strict limits on height, swept area, and distance. Since these rules were set in 2011 and have not since been updated, the government plans to consult on whether they remain appropriate and to explore other small-scale onshore wind options. This need for updated planning principles is reflected in the government’s commitment to revise planning policies and guidance, including national policy statements and planning practice guidance, as well as to promote adherence to best practice pre-consultation processes .

The strategy is expected to unlock several gigawatts of new onshore wind capacity over the next decade, providing a significant boost to the renewable energy pipeline. However, many existing sites face limited grid connection capacity, presenting a major logistical hurdle. The strategy’s acknowledgment of the urgent need for comprehensive grid connection reforms will be vital to support onshore wind expansion. Installing larger turbines, like 7MW models, will only boost generation if grid upgrades occur alongside.

Investors and developers benefit from clearer regulatory environments and stronger grid infrastructure, while communities stand to gain economically. The focus on local supply chains also presents opportunities for innovation, job creation, and regional economic development.

The Solar Roadmap and Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce together represent a strategic, multi-pronged approach to decarbonising the UK’s power sector. By addressing financial, regulatory, infrastructure, and community dimensions, these initiatives lay a robust foundation for scaling renewable energy deployment.