UK renewable energy company Banks Renewables has reached a target of three million megawatt-hours of green energy generated by its onshore wind farms. The wind farms generated one million megawatt-hours in the past year alone.

The company predicts that this total is enough to meet the annual electricity needs of around 1.04 million homes. Additionally, the electricity generated by the portfolio has displaced around 584,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the UK’s electricity supply network, the company predicts.

Banks Renewables was incorporated in 2006 and currently operates ten wind farms across Scotland and the north of England in the UK. It also has an additional four onshore wind farms under development.

The UK’s recent energy policy announcements favour offshore wind with a target to develop 50GW of offshore wind capacity. However, the UK Government outlines in its ‘Powering Up Britain’ policy that “onshore wind is an efficient, cheap and widely supported technology”. The UK government seeks to “deliver a localist approach” to onshore wind.

CEO of Banks Renewables Richard Dunkley claims that: “Onshore wind is one of the cheapest and most easily scalable electricity generation technologies and should be a central part of the UK’s future energy and energy security strategy.”

The company originally used revenue generated from coal mining to fund its onshore wind developments. Dunkley said in a statement that the wind farms make a “vital, long-term contribution to the well-being of the communities in which they’re located, a contribution which is well recognised by the people who live in them”.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The company has distributed £3.5m ($4.4m) to local communities via community funds associated with each wind project. The company claims that it “provide[s] funding for voluntary groups, environmental projects and good causes in their respective communities”.

Increasing onshore wind capacity

Banks Renewables’ capacity is set to increase further this year as the 15-turbine Kype Muir Extension Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is due to come online “imminently”. Additionally, the company has secured planning permissions for the Lethans and Mill Rig Wind Farms, also in Scotland.

In addition to new developments, the company has also secured planning permission to extend the licence of its Armistead Wind Farm in the north of England for a maximum of 40 years. It is looking to secure similar agreements for other projects.

The company is also looking to other renewable energy sources to deploy at a number of sites across the UK. According to Dunkley: “Using the widest possible range of renewable energy generation technologies will allow the UK to work towards reaching its net-zero and climate change objectives more quickly.”

The company is currently developing what is thought to be the largest battery energy storage system currently being planned in the north of the UK, at the Thorpe Marsh Green Energy Hub. Banks renewables is also developing a solar energy generation and battery energy storage project near Rotherham in the north-east of the UK.