Onshore wind currently provides nearly 16 GW of the UK’s energy capacity.[1] A large percentage of these projects are fast approaching their 25-year decommissioning deadlines, with around 5,000 onshore turbines set to reach the end of their operational life by 2050.[2] This places repowering firmly on the agenda as a way in which the UK will meet its clean energy targets. To achieve this, there is an increasing need for project developers to evaluate their options for the future of their projects, particularly from a land rights perspective.
Even for the projects not yet nearing the end of their operational life, rapidly advancing technology is driving significant improvements in size, capacity and efficiency, rendering earlier investment in greater nameplate capacity or efficiency, increasingly attractive.
What is Repowering?
Repowering involves replacing existing turbines with new turbine technologies to maximise the capacity of a site. Existing sites are redesigned and reconfigured with fewer, more efficient turbines. It is the new turbine configuration that distinguishes repowering from end-of-life extensions, which seek to refurbish existing turbines without altering the existing scale of turbines or site layout.
Repowering presents a unique opportunity to increase grid capacity without the need for finding new sites for developing new projects. It can bypass the grid connection challenge faced by pipeline projects, which is an attractive proposition in light of the queue management rules that will be applied by the first ready and needed, first connected principles of the Grid Reforms for transmission connected projects. In fact, repowering will play a fundamental role in making progress towards the Scottish Government's target of 20GW of onshore wind generation capacity by 2030. Onshore wind currently accounts for the largest share of renewable generation capacity in Scotland, with capacity at nearly 9.6GW.[3] In the rest of the UK this figure is around 5GW. Decommissioning these existing projects, without repowering, would result in a significant and challenging loss of capacity, as well as significant developer cost and potential environmental damage given that many of the materials used within wind turbines are often disposed to landfill.[4]
Policy Support
The Labour Government’s energy policy has put onshore wind firmly on the agenda for the whole of the UK, lifting the de facto ban on onshore wind projects in England. Labour’s legislative programme is committed to planning reform to scale and expedite development and delivery of renewable technologies and energy infrastructure through its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
However, it will inevitably take time for these legislative changes to be implemented and applied. This reinforces the importance of repowering as an effective option for delivering ambitious renewable energy targets.
In England, the latest National Planning Policy Framework (NPFF) exempts repowering projects from the need for express development plan and community support; obstacles frequently faced by new onshore wind projects. The NPPF advises Local Planning Authorities to support applications to repower onshore wind developments where their “impacts are or can be made acceptable”.
In Scotland, there is a specific policy support for repowering as outlined in the Scottish Government’s Onshore Wind Policy Statement. This is backed up by National Planning Framework 4 Policy 11 which states:
“Development proposals for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emissions technologies will be supported. These include...wind farms including repowering, extending, expanding and extending the life of existing wind farms”
It is clear, therefore, that there is growing government support, and a desire to streamline the planning process, for repowering projects across the UK.
Key Considerations in Deciding to Repower
How can we tell if repowering is a viable option?
It is essential to assess the terms of the existing lease:
- Term: is the term of the original lease long enough to accommodate the duration of the new project? If not, does it contain an option to extend? Will a further negotiation with the Landowner be required to secure the land rights for the repower project?
- Lease Demise: can the leased area accommodate a new site layout using bigger turbines with larger blades and reconfigured spacing? Older leases often included the developer leasing the wind protection zone rather than just the turbine footprint and so the existing demise may accommodate the new turbine configuration.
- Indemnity Caps/Insurance: are these in line with current market practice?
- Permitted Use: is the permitted use specific to the planning consent for the original project or broader in scope?
- Rent: the Landlord will seek to share in the uplift of increased capacity, yet this may create a tension with onshore wind no longer benefitting from subsidy support.
- Size/Nature of Site: does this allow decommissioning and repowering to occur simultaneously?
Repowering may also necessitate additional land rights, with the larger blades of ‘new and improved’ turbines potentially rendering existing access roads, pinch points and oversail rights inadequate. It is important to include a review of the ancillary land rights in any land rights review. Project clusters may mean that ancillary land rights require cooperation agreements to be entered into with neighbouring developers if any project access rights will be shared.
Early consideration of these land issues will help develop a strategy to secure any variations to existing rights or the new land rights which are required to deliver the repowered capacity, which is key to the Energy Transition.
If you wish to discuss the legal aspects of repowering renewables projects, please reach out to the CMS Real Estate Energy Team. Article authored by Andrea McLellan, Of Counsel (Qualified in Scotland and England & Wales) in the CMS Real Estate Team
[1] Renewable Energy Facts & Statistics | Scottish Renewables
[3] UK Wind energy database (UKWED) | RenewableUK
[4] https://cdn.zerowastescotland.org.uk/managed-downloads/mf-pmcv5yvc-1679501141d
