Chair of Parliamentary Energy Committee visits OnPath Energy’s Heysham South Wind Farm

Bill Esterson MP met with senior members of the OnPath Energy management team at the firm’s longstanding Heysham South Wind Farm, which sits around a kilometre to the south east of the town and has been operational for almost exactly a decade.

Mr Esterson, who chairs the Parliamentary Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee, visited the three-turbine site to hear about OnPath’s community-focused approached to green energy development and how it is aiming to invest around one billion pounds in clean energy projects across the UK over the next five years.

The Heysham South Wind Farm generated more than 18,000 MWh of green energy last year, which is enough to meet the annual energy needs of over 6,200 homes.

As part of the company’s OnPath Together development approach, the wind farm has also delivered around £157,000 in community benefit funds over the last ten years, providing financial support for projects being undertaken by groups and good causes in their surrounding communities.

Richard Dunkley, CEO at OnPath Energy, adds: “The Labour government has made a strong start in terms of meeting its ambition to make the UK a clean energy superpower, but there is still a long way to go to reach this goal and much more to do in terms of creating the policy environment in which it can do so.

“With the way having been opened to new onshore wind development in England, the right standards need to be set for how much-needed additional grid infrastructure is put in place, how new project proposals are designed, assessed and constructed, and how the developers behind them work with local communities in an open, honest and respectful way.

“We believe the work we are doing in Scotland to bring communities with us on the energy transition by creating industry-leading commitments on direct community benefits and community shared ownership provides a strong template for how this challenge can be approached south of the border.

“For example, we’ve committed through our OnPath Together development approach to work with local contractors and subcontractors, resulting with our projects delivering 60 per cent of the project investment that we’re making in our new wind farms within 60km of the site, a commitment that will have a very significant impact on small business growth and skills development opportunities in the surrounding area.”

As Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee, Mr Esterson is leading inquiries into two key pillars of the Government’s Clean Power 2030 Plan: enabling locally-led renewable energy projects and developing the new workplace skills essential for a thriving green economy.

These inquiries aim to unlock the potential of community energy and the clean energy transition—providing energy security and lowering bills, while driving growth and creating skilled jobs in the energy sector.

He says: “As Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee, it was an invaluable opportunity to see firsthand how projects like this are helping to deliver on our net-zero targets while ensuring a more resilient energy supply.

“The committee is taking evidence about the importance of community projects and my visit to the Heysham South Wind Farm gave me valuable insights into how commercial developers could be part of the expansion of community energy on a significant scale across the country and as part of GB Energy’s plans.

“It was inspiring to witness the progress which is being made and the dedication driving the UK’s energy revolution.”

Owned by Brookfield Asset Management, the world’s largest net zero investment fund, OnPath Energy is already one of the UK onshore renewable energy sector’s leading owner/operators.

It currently owns 12 onshore wind farms across England and Scotland, and will begin work on building its first two solar energy generation projects later this year.

Richard Dunkley continues: “We’re very grateful to Mr Esterson for taking the time to visit us at Heysham South and hope the insight and ideas our team provided will be useful in helping him shape the green energy policy agenda in the coming years.”