UK wind initiatives connect energy with national security

The UK government has announced initiatives to unlock capacity for both offshore and onshore wind, following calls for country to link domestic energy security with its national security.

Radar systems to unlock offshore

The UK government has bought specially designed air defence radars, which they say will unlock up to 10GW of offshore wind capacity and mitigate against anomalies currently created by such wind farms.

According to a release, these radars will coexist with new offshore wind farms, without risk of interference – supporting national and energy security.    

The radars, which will be installed from early 2029, will up the UK’s air defence capability, enabling the detection and identification of incursions and threats within UK airspace. 

This follows the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in British and European history, in which the government secured a record 8.4GW of capacity – enough to power 12 million homes – at a price 40% lower than the cost of building and running a new gas power plant. 

By upgrading the radar systems, the government says, this offshore capacity will be able to move from contract to construction. 

Said UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks:  

“This new radar technology will unlock a key barrier holding back offshore wind farms, so that we can deliver the clean homegrown power needed to protect families from volatile fossil fuel markets, while bolstering our national security.”

Benj Sykes, OWIC Board Sponsor for Aviation and Defence, and Vice President and UK Country Manager for Ørsted, said: “The Offshore Wind Industry Council welcomes the conclusion of procurement for a new air defence mitigation solution. 

“This will ensure we are able to unlock over 10GW of wind energy by 2030, as well as billions of pounds of investment and thousands of jobs for the UK, without compromising our national defence.”

Security and energy in the UK

The radar initiative comes as the UK government launches a consultation on unlocking up to 6GW of onshore wind capacity near the Eskdalemuir seismic array in Scotland.

The Array, a seismological monitoring station in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, was established in 1962 to detect seismic signals from nuclear explosions. 

In 2005, a technical report, The Styles Report, was commissioned to assess the nature of wind turbine interference with the Array, finding that some of the rotational energy generated from a wind turbine transfers through the column of the turbine and into the ground. The resultant Seismic Ground Vibrations (SGVs), said the report, can adversely affect the Array's detection capabilities.

The UK’s DESNZ and the Scottish Government are now seeking to implement a solution to this onshore wind interference as, without a change in approach, no new projects are likely to be consented within 50km of the Array. 

The proposed new framework aims to open this area to new onshore wind development and maximise the potential generation capacity.

Specifically, the proposals would block onshore wind within 15km of the array, while easing planning rules in the surrounding area between 15km and 50km. This will enable Eskdalemuir seismic array to continue its operations, while supporting national and energy security, says the UK government. 

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Experts urge energy security to be treated as national security

A week prior to the radar and array announcements, a report by Public First, produced in collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and commissioned by trade association RenewableUK, warned that ongoing reliance on internationally-traded gas has left the UK over-exposed to global price shocks, fiscal risk and hostile state activity. 

The report highlighted the importance of investing in and safeguarding the UK’s domestic energy supply as a national security priority, stating that there are unique benefits to renewables playing the leading role in maintaining a resilient, low-cost power system.

The report’s findings draw on a detailed wargame exercise involving experts from COBRA-level emergency planning, NESO, National Grid, National Gas, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, oil and gas companies and renewable energy developers.

The authors also conducted interviews with specialists from the Ministry of Defence, NATO and the Alan Turing Institute. 

Across a wide range of scenarios in the wargame — including geopolitical conflict, extreme weather and infrastructure disruption — the UK continued to supply electricity to households and businesses. 

However, exposure to global gas markets quickly pushed up bills, leading to increased public spending and political and fiscal uncertainty that could be weaponised by hostile states.

Crucially, says RenewableUK, the wargame showed that a power system built around renewables — supported by storage and flexibility — is more resilient against physical disruption than a fossil-fuel-based system.

This is because wind and solar generation is spread across the country, meaning there are fewer single points which could be targeted than in a system reliant on centralised plants.

The report concluded that as geopolitical shocks, extreme weather and cyber threats become more frequent, energy security must be treated with the same seriousness as defence capability, supply chains and other critical national infrastructure.

Key recommendations from the report included:

1. Embed energy security firmly within national security planning, calling on the UK to work with NATO allies to develop a framework in which investment in energy resilience can count towards collective defence spending commitments;
2. Scale up storage, highlighting the critical role of flexibility in absorbing shocks;
3. Harness consumers and businesses as part of the resilience solution, noting how flexible tariffs and smart technologies and electrification can reduce system stress and costs;
4. Treat cybersecurity as a frontline energy risk, reinforcing the need to draw renewables and fossil fuel assets fully into national cybersecurity frameworks;
5. Strengthen international protection of critical infrastructure, calling on the UK to deepen cooperation with European partners to safeguard undersea cables and pipelines in the North Sea.

Commenting on the report was RenewableUK Chief Executive Tara Singh:

“Security experts are increasingly clear that the best way to protect the UK’s economy and national security is to make the most of our own home grown energy. 

“Renewables are central to that because they reduce exposure to global shocks, help keep bills stable and make the system harder to disrupt, alongside the continued role of the North Sea and gas storage.”

Easing onshore turbine installations

The UK’s radar initiative is not the only way they have been turning wind power into a security asset.

Days before the announcement, Labour proposed to allow businesses and public sector organisations to install one turbine up to 30 metres without submitting planning proposals, making it faster and cheaper to generate clean power on site. 

Currently, permitted development rights for onshore wind in England apply only to small domestic turbines with strict height and size limits. 

The new proposals would extend these rights to non-domestic premises, making it faster and simpler for organisations to generate clean electricity on site where key siting and safety conditions are met. 

In a release announcing the proposal, the UK government says that the current conflict in the Middle East made it clear that for the UK to secure energy sovereignty, it would need to end its dependence on fossil fuel markets and transition to homegrown power.  

Said Shanks: 

“By allowing farmers, schools and businesses to build a single small onshore wind turbine – no larger than an oak tree – without planning permission, we are giving them the tools to lower their bills and make the best use of their land. 

“In the midst of uncertain global markets, the only way for households and businesses to have certainty is to invest in clean homegrown power such as onshore wind, one of the cheapest and quickest forms of energy to build.”