The changes in the Action Plan are broadly welcome, however the urgency of the situation must not be underestimated. Only recently, the National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) described the UK’s 2030 clean power target as “ambitious but achievable” if renewables are expanding swiftly and significantly – doubling onshore wind and tripling solar.

Whilst the government’s clean power plan shows promising steps towards accelerating large-scale renewables, it is in danger of overlooking the importance of small to medium sized, local projects. These are the projects that put local communities at the heart of the energy transition. Smaller projects can fit better into the local landscape and generate electricity closer to where it is used, potentially reducing the number of pylons needed nationally.

We also need to make the most of the clean energy capacity that is already available to us by repowering existing projects i.e. replacing older wind turbines with fewer, more modern and efficient ones. For example, the 150m Ambition Community Energy wind turbine that was part funded by Thrive and built in 2023 can generate more than double the power of each single 125m wind turbine at our neighbouring Avonmouth wind farm built in 2014.

As we head into the new year let’s work together to keep the momentum up and push for urgent change at national, regional and local level to accelerate the rollout of the much-needed renewables revolution.