Renewable energy sites generated hundreds of gigawatts per hour of electricity in Doncaster last year

PM Boris Johnson said the coronavirus crisis should be used as a catalyst to make the UK the world leader in offshore wind power generation, creating thousands of jobs in the process.

But with the plans focusing largely on offshore technology, climate charity Possible said more needs to be done to see the full benefits of the "hugely popular" onshore wind farms.

Figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show 253,694 megawatts per hour (around 254 gigawatts) of renewable electricity were generated in Doncaster in 2019.

This was 13% more energy than the 225 GWh produced in 2014, the earliest year of data available.

The biggest producer of energy in Doncaster last year was onshore wind farms, which generated 138,342 MWh – 55% of the total.

This was followed by solar power (17%), and landfill gas, which is created by the decomposition of organic materials in a landfill – which generated a further 30,407MWh (12%).

Renewable electricity generated around a third of the UK's total energy last year (120,675 GWh) – almost double the amount it did in 2014.

Offshore wind farms, which are turbines located at sea, and onshore wind farms, based on land, were each responsible for 27% of the UK's total, but the Government's plan focuses largely on those in the water.

Downing Street said the £160 million investment programme will enable the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs by 2030, upping the target for offshore wind from 30 to 40 gigawatts.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Johnson said: “Your kettle, your washing machine, your cooker, your heating, your plug-in electric vehicle – the whole lot of them will get their juice cleanly and without guilt from the breezes that blow around these islands.

“As Saudi Arabia is to oil, the UK is to wind – a place of almost limitless resource, but in the case of wind without the carbon emissions and without the damage to the environment."

Climate charity Possible said it is great to see the PM finally backing wind power, but much more needs to be done to see the full benefits of the "hugely popular" onshore wind.

The Government's own polls show 77% of the public support onshore wind energy – but solar, offshore turbines and wave/ tidal power were more popular.

Director Alice Bell said: "It remains a scandal that a local community group in England will still be unable to put up a wind turbine of their own to power their village, because onshore wind turbines are still banned under planning rules.

"Onshore wind is generating massive amounts of electricity for British households.

"Like all renewables, it's popular. Moreover, it's the cheapest way to generate electricity we have."

In March, the Government reversed a 2015 decision which had ended support for onshore wind farms and prevented them from competing with other technologies to secure contracts in low carbon power schemes.

FROM THE EDITOR

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