Repowering Onshore Wind - Consenting Strategies

Repowering Onshore Wind - Consenting Strategies

From Eversheds Sutherland - Legal Insights by Eversheds Sutherland

March 16, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges and strategies for repowering onshore wind farms as they near the end of their operational life.

As operational wind farms approach the end of their operational life, developers are faced with difficult decisions: decommission, life-extend or replace or upgrade old turbines with modern, higher-capacity technology. The opportunity to take advantage of consenting hurdles already overcome at wind farm sites are set against the challenge of new technical and commercial constraints associated with the scale of infrastructure, and the complexity of a new environmental baseline. The consenting legal and policy framework is playing catch up: how do we repower existing wind farm sites, sustain their contribution to wind energy deployment targets, and ultimately support the delivery of net zero objectives? Join us to hear from ReAmp's Directors William Black and Alison Sidgwick on the key policy considerations and James Gibson, Partner in Eversheds Sutherland's Planning and Infrastructure Consenting practice, on the legal framework to inform repowering strategies.

People in this episode

Guests: William Black, Alison Sidgwick, James Gibson

Topics covered

  • onshore wind
  • repowering
  • consenting strategies
  • environmental policy
  • net zero objectives

Keywords

  • wind energy
  • decommissioning
  • life-extension
  • turbine upgrade
  • environmental baseline
  • legal framework
  • policy considerations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Eversheds Sutherland, ReAmp

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