The Government is launching an update to the National Policy Statements for energy infrastructure, which govern development consent for major energy installations. One of the leading aims of the policy update is to give greater clarity about the weight planners should give to competing interests including economic, ecological, energy supply and security, and even aesthetic considerations, which can severely slow or even halt infrastructure planning decisions in their tracks. And time is of the essence: Government's Clean Power 2030 target will require most new electricity transmission and offshore wind projects to secure planning consent by next year, and most large-scale onshore projects will need that consent by 2028.
The Government has indicated that it wants to remove planning ‘blocks’ to the infrastructure development needed for its energy, industrial and growth strategies – but will these updates to the National Policy Statements fit the bill?
Can they really help balance the thorny issues around the competing, legitimate aims and interests of national energy needs, local communities and the natural environment?
A key example is the question of electricity cabling: it can cost up to ten times as much to bury power cables as to run them on pylons overhead. But strong community objections to pylons on mainly aesthetic grounds can hold up the necessary planning consents - time that national energy needs, targets and strategy now do not have. Where should the balance lie? Do the policy statement updates do enough to help planners decide?
Alongside the Government’s consultation on the new policy statements the Committee is launching a quick call for evidence, seeking stakeholder views on the impact of the policy changes.
Many stakeholders will be making detailed submissions to the Government consultation on the same short timeline: the Committee would welcome submission of the “highlights” or key elements of these more detailed responses to Government, to be considered by the Committee and synthesised into our own recommendations to the Government.
On that basis, the Committee is seeking evidence submissions by 5pm on May 12th from all interested stakeholders on any or all of the following areas in the three updated National Policy Statements for energy infrastructure:
Overarching National Policy Statement for energy (EN-1)
National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure (EN-3)
National Policy Statement for electricity networks infrastructure (EN-5)