High Court blocks onshore wind challenge

The High Court has refused permission to proceed with a legal challenge against the government’s decision to downplay the importance of onshore wind.

Following our success in making the government review the Energy National Policy Statement, an external funder offered to support us in a legal action to force ministers to explain why they’ve left onshore wind off the list of infrastructure projects that are nationally significant.

That challenge was launched in February this year, but according to an initial decision by the High Court, the claim does not meet the threshold for a judicial review to proceed. Having considered the judge’s reasons together with our lawyers, we are applying for the permission decision to be reviewed at an oral hearing so that this important issue can be properly assessed by the courts. 

Onshore wind is one of the cheapest and cleanest ways to generate electricity, so we can’t allow this to be a missed opportunity to remove the obstacles in its way.  

We’ll keep asking why the government has a problem with wind power, when it’s a crucial part of achieving our net zero targets, cutting energy bills, and creating jobs.

We need more onshore wind projects, not a fossil fuel bonanza in the North Sea.

The fight doesn’t stop here.