27-29GW Onshore Wind Capacity by 2030

Commitment: Deploy 27-29 gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind capacity by 2030, as part of the Clean Power 2030 target.

Owner: DESNZ

Target date: 2030

Metric: Installed onshore wind capacity (GW) in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Status: at-risk

Context

Onshore wind is the second largest clean power source in the Clean Power 2030 plan after offshore wind. The 27-29GW target requires significant new deployment, particularly in England where onshore wind was effectively blocked from the NSIP planning regime for a decade.

Key change: reinstatement in NSIP regime

Onshore wind was removed from the NSIP regime in 2015 (requiring local planning authority consent instead, making large projects effectively impossible in England). The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 reinstated onshore wind in the NSIP regime — enabling large-scale onshore wind projects in England to go through the national consent process.

However, as with offshore wind, the PIA 2025 reform arrived in December 2025 — only 5 years before the 2030 target. Onshore wind projects starting in 2026 will face 4-6 year development timelines, making 2030 delivery for new-start English onshore projects extremely tight.

Scotland and Wales

Most existing UK onshore wind is in Scotland (separate planning regime). The 27-29GW target is UK-wide. Scotland’s consented pipeline is more mature; England’s onshore wind pipeline was effectively depleted during the planning moratorium years.

Delivery history

• [2015] Onshore wind removed from NSIP regime; English deployment effectively stops
• [December 2024] Clean Power 2030 Action Plan: 27-29GW target confirmed
• [December 2025] PIA 2025: onshore wind reinstated in NSIP regime for England