8th July 2025:
One year on from the lifting of England’s onshore wind ban, and hot on the heels of last week’s unveiling of the Onshore Wind Strategy, communities are to benefit from a new initiative improving access to the benefits of locally-sourced renewable energy. VoteWind.org – launched today by Open Wind Energy and Community Energy England on behalf of the Energy Learning Network – gives communities the power to quickly identify and vote for the best locations for community wind turbines in their area.
John Taylor, Project Lead at Community Energy England, said, “Onshore wind is the missing piece in the Clean Power 2030 plan, and we know from the likes of Ambition Lawrence Weston and Bishops Castle that it has the best chances of success when it is led and owned by communities. Community wind represents a huge overlooked opportunity to generate income for cash-strapped communities across the UK, delivering cheap, home-grown electricity and helping tackle climate change along the way. With VoteWind.org, we’re mobilising the unstoppable power of communities to play their part and say where they want a community wind turbine.”
VoteWind is a collaboration between seven leading Net Zero organisations – Open Wind Energy and the six partner organisations of the ‘Energy Learning Network’: Ashden Climate Solutions, the Centre for Sustainable Energy, Community Energy England, Community Energy Scotland, Community Energy Wales and Action Renewables. The Energy Learning Network, launched in January 2025, is a £1.5m project funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund, with cross-sector collaboration at its heart.
Stefan Haselwimmer, Founder of Open Wind Energy, said, “We’re delighted to work with the Energy Learning Network to deliver this innovative, people-powered website for getting onshore wind projects off the ground. One year on from the lifting of the wind ban, show you’re a wind fan with VoteWind.org!”
According to the latest government research published last week, “around seven in ten [people] supported onshore wind… 37% of people said they would be happy for an onshore wind farm to be constructed in their local area” (DESNZ, July 2025). This figure rises to over 60% when it is a community-owned project (Common Wealth, January 2025). The UK’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan is set to double the amount of onshore wind by 2030 and community wind represents a significant opportunity for ‘GB Energy’: “local people will see the benefits of homegrown clean power… profits can be reinvested in the community or knock money off people’s energy bills” (DESNZ, March 2025). Community energy has contributed £12.9m per annum to local economies according to Community Energy England (July 2024).
The VoteWind website will strengthen local support for wind by empowering anyone with a mobile phone to vote for community wind sites in their area. The website will also help transform people’s idealism into impactful action by matchmaking users with community energy groups close to them so that they can drive community wind projects forward together.
While VoteWind is primarily focused on ‘wind fans’, it may also be of interest to ‘wind sceptics’ as Taylor explained: “While many people support local wind projects, it is understandable that some people may feel wary about them – especially if they don’t receive any direct benefit or are kept in the dark as to how things will look. VoteWind has been specifically designed to support local communities to visualize and progress onshore wind projects, helping local people feel the practical benefits of onshore wind while giving them a clear picture of how construction projects will eventually look.”
All data and content on VoteWind.org, including the wind constraint layers, are available under an open-source licence to ensure both communities, local councils and statutory consultees are using the same identical wind site selection methodology. This reduces the need for expensive feasibility studies and complements the new GB Energy Community Fund. For further information about VoteWind’s unique open source approach, go to https://content.votewind.org/about/
Key features of VoteWind.org:
- Website can be accessed through a mobile phone, tablet or desktop computer.
- User enters a postcode, place name or selects the ‘use my location’ button to go to their local area.
- Wind constraint layers are then displayed for a range of wind turbines, from smaller turbines with a height-to-tip size of 100 metres to turbines with a height-to-tip of 200 metres. Wind speed data and proximity to nearest electricity substation are also generated for every potential turbine site.
- For more technical users, detailed area-specific wind constraint layers, eg. east-sussex.votewind.org, are available that allow the user to easily toggle on/off specific constraint layers.
- A dynamic visibility ‘viewshed’ function helps users gauge how visible a specific turbine will be using digital surface data. A 3D visualisation feature allows users to see what a specific wind turbine would look like from a variety of angles, including from where the user is currently positioned.
- Users cast a single vote using a website cookie or by entering their email address and can share their vote with other people via social media. A UK-wide leaderboard provides an up-to-the-minute view of all votes cast across the UK.
- A comprehensive database of community energy groups for the United Kingdom can be accessed via a text search or visual map. The five nearest community groups to the user are also displayed once the user has voted.
- Wind-related resources are provided to support users wishing to progress a community wind project.