{"id":10437,"date":"2024-12-12T13:29:54","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T13:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solarenergyuk.org\/?post_type=news&p=10437"},"modified":"2024-12-13T17:12:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T17:12:48","slug":"solar-industry-welcomes-english-planning-reforms","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/solarenergyuk.org\/news\/solar-industry-welcomes-english-planning-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar industry welcomes English planning reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Solar Energy UK<\/strong>
12 December 2024\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revised planning guidance should help accelerate the delivery of renewable energy projects in England, making compliance with UK climate obligations easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published today, employs more robust language on the need to cut carbon emissions urgently.[1] It states that planning authorities should give \u201csignificant weight to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation and the proposal\u2019s contribution to a net zero future\u201d when determining applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another change strikes out a provision added to the NPPF by the previous Government, which gave spurious grounds for local authorities to refuse consent for solar farms by presenting them as a threat to food production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the summer, both the National Farmers Union and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband dismissed such mistaken fears over food security.[2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revisions make the NPPF more consistent with National Policy Statements (NPSs) which govern Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). NPS EN-3 declares them to be \u201ccritical national priority\u201d infrastructure, adding that their \u201cnational security, economic, commercial and net zero benefits\u201d should generally outweigh any impacts.[3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a package of reforms that should power up the solar market, moving the dial further towards decarbonisation and lower energy bills,\u201d said Chris Hewett, Chief Executive of Solar Energy UK. \u201cInserting further provisions on defining the \u2018grey belt\u2019 should also be helpful,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New threshold<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government has also changed the capacity threshold for NSIPs, which are considered in Whitehall rather than at a local level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only solar farms over 100 megawatts in capacity will now have to be referred to central Government for determination. Until yesterday, the limit was 50MW, above which they would be considered as NSIPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision was taken \u201cprimarily due to a higher threshold better reflecting the technological advances in solar technology since 2008, when the original threshold was set. Solar projects at the current threshold of 50MW are therefore unlikely to be of a scale, impact or complexity that is proportionate to using the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process,\u201d says the Government\u2019s response to consultation on the guidance.[4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former 50MW ceiling acted as an artificial cap, discouraging solar projects being put forward just over the limit. Not a single one has been proposed between 50MW and 99.9MW in England, due to the extra time and resources of the NSIP regime, whereas there are 174 either built or in the pipeline at 49.9MW. This has led to opportunities being missed, slowing the pace of decarbonising the grid and limiting investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the NSIP system does present certain advantages over the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA). How NSIP applications are handled tends to be clearer and decisions tend to be more closely aligned to national policy. In the past, refusals under the TCPA,<\/del> have led to numerous successful appeals, due to inconsistencies in decision making, which have delayed projects and led to unnecessary public and private expenditure. These changes to the NPPF should reduce such obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven the pros and cons, I think the solar industry will be happy to settle for a 100MW ceiling, less radical than the 150MW threshold that a consultation suggested in the summer. Given that a bigger concern has been chronic under-resourcing of planning officers, we are very pleased to see the pledge to allocate \u00a3100m to councils\u2019 planning departments, which should make a real difference to decision-making times,\u201d said Hewett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transitional arrangements will be in place for a year, allowing projects between 50 and 100MW to be considered under the TCPA or under the Planning Act 2008 as an NSIP, according to the choice of the developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] National Planning Policy Framework<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Miliband slams food security fearmongering<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure (EN-3)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system consultation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 ENDS \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information or to request an interview, please contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gareth Simkins, Senior Communications Adviser<\/p>\n\n\n\n

gsimkins@solarenergyuk.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

news@solarenergyuk.org<\/a> | solarenergyuk.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solar Energy UK12 December 2024\u00a0 Revised planning guidance should help accelerate the delivery of renewable energy projects in England, making compliance with UK climate obligations easier. The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published today, employs more robust language on the need to cut carbon emissions urgently.[1] It states that planning authorities should give \u201csignificant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":6088,"template":"","custom_tag":[],"class_list":["post-10437","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSolar industry welcomes English planning reforms • Solar Energy UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Revised English planning guidance should help accelerate the delivery of renewable energy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/solarenergyuk.org\/news\/solar-industry-welcomes-english-planning-reforms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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