Consultation requirements for UK wind farms will be streamlined to speed up project delivery, under measures outlined in the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The bill, which was formally introduced to Parliament today, will see significant measures introduced to speed up planning decisions and remove unnecessary challenges to the delivery of vital developments such as wind farms, roads and railway lines.
The government wants to create a faster regime for National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP), enabling speedier project delivery.
The new NSIP regime will streamline the consultation requirements and ensure the national policies against which infrastructure applications are assessed are updated at least every five years so the government’s priorities are clear.
There will also be an overhaul of the process by which government decisions on major infrastructure projects can be challenged.
Meritless cases will only have one – rather than three – attempts at legal challenge, to help minimise delays.
Data shows that over half – 58% – of all decisions on major infrastructure were taken to court, including wind farms in East Anglia, which were delayed by over two years as a result of unsuccessful challenges.
The bill will also allow clean energy projects, including wind and solar developments, to jump to the front of the queue for grid connections.
Some projects currently face waits of over 10 years. A ‘first ready, first connected’ system will replace the ‘first come, first served’ approach to prioritise projects needed to deliver clean power.
The bill comes alongside wider planning reforms including the new National Planning Policy Framework and is at the heart of the government’s Plan for Change mission to ensure Britain can become a clean energy superpower.
People living near new electricity pylons will also receive up to £2500 over 10 years off their energy bills.
Around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure will be needed by 2030 as has been built in the past decade.
Other measures outlined in the bill include an extension to the generator commissioning period from 18 to 27 months to reduce the number of offshore wind farms requiring exemptions when applying for licences to connect to onshore cables and substations.
Reacting to the bill, LCP Delta said it was vital to speed up transmission network infrastructure and clear the backlog of new energy projects struggling to connect to the grid.
Head of energy economics, policy and investment at LCP Delta Sam Hollister said: “There are serious concerns for new energy projects struggling to connect to the grid that could endanger the UK’s Clean Power 2030 targets.
“Currently, the grid connections queue holds a capacity of 750GW across transmission and distribution networks, damaging investor confidence and hindering the completion of valuable clean energy projects who are struggling to get connected.
“The time to overcome this barrier is now.
“A turn towards a ‘first ready, first connected’ system to deal with these backlogs should be welcomed by developers and investors focused on unlocking the economic potential of grid decarbonisation.”