British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has committed to streamlining the approval process for 150 major infrastructure projects, as the government reiterates its commitment to clean energy.
Unveiling the Government’s Plan for Change yesterday (December 5), Starmer said: “We will streamline the approval process in the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. If I go through that reform, I can announce another new goal. Not only 1.5 million homes, but also 150 major infrastructure projects, a milestone that will triple the number of decisions on national infrastructure compared to the previous parliament.”
The UK’s planning system has become a hot topic of debate over the impact this has on the rollout of renewable energy generation projects, let alone other major economic infrastructure projects across the country.
The government has made efforts to address this in the solar sector. Within a few weeks of taking office, the new government approved plans for 1.3 GW of solar PV NSIPs, marking a clear policy shift away from the numerous delays imposed on such projects by the Conservative government.
The need for a new planning framework attracted the attention of the wider renewable energy sector in Britain. Trade body RenewableUK, rural charity CPRE and sustainable business organization Aldersgate Group have released the interim findings of their investigation into the UK’s onshore renewable energy planning system, concluding that There are five major problems with the current NSIP regime.
It is not known how Starmer and the Labor government intend to streamline this process, whether through major reform or some other framework change. Yet the government wants to do this to put the country on track to achieve 95% clean energy by 2030.
The government must act decisively to achieve the milestone of 150 projects
News of the government’s commitment to streamline 150 major infrastructure projects was met with mixed signals from the energy sector. While the government’s commitment to achieving this is positive for the sector, questions arise about how this will be achieved.
Dr. Kristian Niemietz, head of political economy at free market think tank the Institute for Economic Affairs, sees Starmer’s new policies as “another false dawn”, insisting that these comments have been made before by the government without taking action .
“The Government’s recognition of this is welcome, and the Prime Minister is right to point out that our planning system has left us short not only of homes, but also of key infrastructure, including transport and energy,” Dr Niemietz said.
“But we have heard similar positive sounds before. Such announcements have become the political equivalent of the New Year’s resolution to quit smoking, go to the gym and speak fluent French. Recognizing that these things are desirable is the easy part. The challenge to avoid another false dawn is to hold on to it despite adversity.”
Despite this, Starmer’s speech has some positive points, particularly in relation to its commitment to bringing clean energy growth to the heart of Britain. Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), agrees, highlighting some of the initiatives that will help the country achieve this.
“The National Energy System Operator last month set out how Britain can achieve clean energy and before the new year the Government’s Mission Control is expected to set out more details about its plans – both should provide certainty for the energy industry and should help guarantee greater safety. investments in our growing net-zero economy,” said Ralston.
This article first appeared on our sister site Current± – read it here.
