Abstract
Deploying 35 GW of onshore wind by 2035 could reduce UK electricity costs by 7%, support 31,000 jobs, lift productivity throughout the UK and enable a £360m export industry. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recently recommended that the UK government adopt a net zero emissions target by 2050, which would require a significant acceleration of onshore wind deployment. This recommendation was accepted by the UK Government and Parliament has now legislated to set the 2050 net zero target. Onshore wind is the cheapest low-carbon generation technology available. In order to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions at least-cost by 2050, the UK could need up to 35 GW of onshore wind capacity by 2035 (Vivid Economics and Imperial College London, 2019). This would require the deployment of 1.4 GW of onshore wind annually, a significant increase on the modest 0.6 GW deployed in 2018. Beyond reducing emissions, accelerating deployment in line with CCC net zero recommendations would result in a series of socioeconomic benefits to the UK, as set out in Figure 1.