RenewableUK latest EnergyPulse Onshore Wind report shows that the total capacity of the UK’s pipeline of onshore wind farms at any stage of development, including projects at an early stage of development through to those which are fully operational has reached a milestone of 50 gigawatts. One gigawatt of onshore wind generates enough electricity to meet the annual needs of over 650,000 UK homes.
The UK now has a total pipeline of 50,134 megawatts (MW) of onshore wind capacity - an increase of 6.5% (3,076MW) since our last report a year ago, when the pipeline stood at 47,058MW.
Scotland accounts for 75% of the UK’s current onshore wind portfolio, followed by Wales at 12%, England at 8% and Northern Ireland at 5%:
In 2025, the first full calendar year since the lifting of the onshore wind ban in England in July 2024, 233MW was submitted into the planning system - exceeding the 188MW submitted across the entire nine years from the start of 2016 to the end of 2024 combined. The ban was introduced in June 2015.
The report highlights the fact that planning submissions of onshore wind projects across the UK hit a record 5,043MW in 2025, 47% above the previous peak in 2013 of 3,440MW.
The proportion of onshore wind capacity being approved by local authorities reached 64% in 2025, equalling the record set in 2020. The rate of approvals has been steadily rising since 2018, when it stood at just 37%. For larger projects determined by the Government, the approval rate is even higher at 77%.
RenewableUK’s CEO Tara Singh said:
'It’s great to see the UK’s pipeline of onshore wind projects has topped 50 gigawatts. This growth is good news for billpayers, as onshore wind is one of our cheapest sources of new power, and one of the quickest to build. The UK has an opportunity strengthen our energy security further by securing more homegrown power in the current auction for new onshore wind projects to go ahead. Three and a half gigawatts of new capacity is eligible to bid in this round, which is equivalent to nearly a quarter of our entire current onshore wind fleet, so we’re urging the Government to set its sights high to secure the maximum amount of low-cost onshore wind capacity in this auction round'.
More details on our EnergyPulse reports and access to the full interactive database, which is available to RenewableUK members and EnergyPulse subscribers, are available here.
The report is released in the run-up to our Onshore Wind Conference 2026, co-hosted by RenewableUK and Scottish Renewables, on 1st and 2nd September in Edinburgh.
Source: RenewableUK
