[alephnerd]

> build those wind farms closer to England

How? The issue is local NIMBYs [0], anti-industry environmentalists [1], far left leaning groups [2], and even the fishing lobby [3] all attempt to obstruct wind farm expansion and make it difficult for moderates in Labour to actually execute on building energy independence for the UK.

Of course, this is also being amplified by information warfare by opponents to the UK [4][5], as can be seen by the social media campaign against offshore wind farms in the Isle of Man [6].

Frankly, the UK needs to internalize Fiona Hill's [7] position and start cracking down on fifth columnists like Farage, Corbyn, and their acolytes.

[0] - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r39el1ne0o

[1] - https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26000069.rejection-200m-...

[2] - https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/labour-versu...

[3] - https://fishingnews.co.uk/news/developer-pulls-out-of-east-o...

[4] - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/18/uk-politics...

[5] - https://www.thetimes.com/uk/social-media/article/iran-war-fa...

[6] - https://www.facebook.com/61588338835208/

[7] - https://xcancel.com/FrankRGardner/status/2027098560647348410

[martinald]

I mean offshore wind, not onshore. Thankfully most of the new ones are being built in England - check https://openinframap.org/#7.05/53.375/3.069, and these aren't curtailed.

But it was incredibly dumb to build many GW of offshore wind in Scotland when the grid was already over capacity.

[alephnerd]

Even offshore ones face persistent opposition [0].

Frankly, opposition to either onshore or offshore wind farms is dumb and is clearly being weaponized by opponents of the UK.

> But it was incredibly dumb to build many GW of offshore wind in Scotland when the grid was already over capacity

Overcapacity is a good problem to have from a NatSec perspective (as is seen with Chinese and Indian solar).

Also, it's the Scottish Government that has been backing offshore wind farm development for almost a decade [1].

Similar initiatives could have been done in England, but face persistent issues at the local level due to weaponized opposition.

[0] - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74vj881090o

[1] - https://www.gov.scot/policies/marine-renewable-energy/offsho...

[martinald]

I don't quite understand. The opposition can't be that insurmountable for offshore wind off England coast (instead of Scotland) given 700 giant offshore turbines are being built as we speak off the English coast. Including the world's largest windfarm (Hornsea 3).

[alephnerd]

Look at the timeline of when Hornsea 3 and these projects were initiated - most of these projects broke ground 10 to 15 years ago.

The issue is the next generation of offshore wind projects in England is up in the air. This was why Hornsea 4 [0] was cancelled by Ørsted, how the Isle of Man has mobilized against the Mooir Vannin project [1] despite it having the potential to help Liverpool and Manchester, and the Shetland's project being cancelled due to the fishing lobby [2].

What is under construction today doesn't matter because those projects started a decade ago. What matters is whether new projects are being allowed or blocked.

[0] - https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/offsho...

[1] - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74vj881090o

[2] - https://fishingnews.co.uk/news/developer-pulls-out-of-east-o...

[mvc]

> But it was incredibly dumb to build many GW of offshore wind in Scotland when the grid was already over capacity.

Isn't it equally dumb to continue to bet the entire country's economy on a tiny little bit of England (and then shame the other regions as unproductive layabouts when they don't produce as much tax revenue)? Energy production is not the only, nor even the biggest imbalance in UK resources. Maybe people and businesses should go where the energy is instead of waiting for it to come to them.