Electricity Development Consents

The Department of Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) administers the provisions of the Electricity Act 1989 and the Transport and Works Act 1992 (for offshore wind farms only) for developers seeking development consents from the Secretary of State for the construction of electricity generating stations and for overhead lines.

When consents may be required

The Department administers the provisions of the Electricity Act 1989 for developers seeking development consents from the Secretary of State for the construction of electricity generating stations for generating stations of over 50 MW (onshore) or over 1 MW only up to limits of territorial waters (offshore) and for overhead lines and associated permissions (necessary wayleaves, compulsory purchase orders) in England and Wales. Applications under the Electricity Act in Scotland are handled by the Scottish Executive.

In processing applications the Department considers the environmental consequences of what is proposed. European wide requirements on environmental impact assessment of development are applied for the Electricity Act regime through the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000:

These Regulations have recently been updated to reflect the EU’s Public Participation Directive:

The Department also administers the provisions of the Transport and Works Act 1992 in respect of energy related applications in UK territorial waters adjoining England. For similar development in territorial waters adjacent to Wales, the National Assembly for Wales takes the decision. (NB the Transport and Works Act does not apply in Scotland.)

Power Station and Overhead Line consents (onshore)

Section 36 (power stations) and section 37 (overhead lines) of the Electricity Act 1989 are comprehensive procedures in which the views of the local planning authority, the local people, statutory bodies such as the Environment Agency, Natural England/Countryside Council for Wales, and other interested parties can be brought into the decision making. All applications are routed to the local planning authority and will therefore appear on the local planning register. In certain circumstances a public inquiry may be called before the Secretary of State takes his decision.

An issue that has arisen in certain circumstances in respect of onshore wind farms is that the assessment of cumulative environmental impacts. Entec have published a Review of Guidance on the Assessment of Cumulative Impacts of Onshore Windfarms.

The review was commissioned by BERR with the purpose of:

  • establishing the nature and range of existing advice and guidance on cumulative impact assessment across the full range of technical subject matter normally considered through the EIA process for an onshore wind farm;
  • highlighting qualitative and quantitative issues associated with present practise, in particular areas where there are considered to be issues in consistency or applicability, or where there is currently no guidance; and
  • drawing conclusions on the manner in which those issues are addressed and in particular provide an understanding on the adequacy of guidance on cumulative assessment by topic area.

The Review concludes that the cumulative impact assessment process is currently performing adequately. At the same time, it identifies opportunities to further improve guidance for practitioners in order to enhance the efficiency of the planning process. DECC will now be discussing the report’s conclusions with the Review’s authors to consider what, if any, additional work might be useful in respect of possible improvements to current guidance.

Power stations (offshore)

In addition to Section 36 consent under the Electricity Act 1989 a number of other Government consents/licences may be required for offshore generation stations. Details on the process for obtaining the necessary consents are set out in the guidance below:

Power stations fuelled by oil or natural gas

Power stations of 10 MW or more also require energy policy clearance under section 14 (1) of the Energy Act 1976 if they are to be fuelled by oil or natural gas. This is administered by the Department on a Great Britain basis i.e. England, Wales and Scotland.

Exploring CHP

In bringing forward power station proposals (except renewable energy projects) under section 36 and under section 14, developers are required to show they have explored opportunities to use combined heat and power. The Department has updated its guidance (in English and Welsh) on implementing that requirement. The guidance sets out background information on the requirement, provides a list of useful contacts to help in that exercise and is available below:

Wayleaves and compulsory purchase orders

The Department also administers necessary (i.e. compulsory) wayleaves and compulsory purchase orders sought by electricity companies. Guidance for applicants and landowners and/or occupiers on the necessary wayleave procedure has been published and is available below:

For compulsory purchase no guidance has been published but the Department follows the practice laid down in planning circular 14/94 Compulsory Purchase Orders: Procedures.

The Planning Bill

In November 2007 the Government introduced the Planning Bill. The Bill contains draft legislation that proposes a fundamental overhaul of the planning system for national significant infrastructure projects across water, waste, energy and transport projects and the establishment of an Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). The Bill will also enshrine new National Policy Statements (NPS) to clearly set out Government policy for infrastructure development. BERR expects to produce a suite of NPSs for energy infrastructure.

The Planning Bill follows extensive consultation on the Planning White Paper which ended on 17 August 2007. The Government Response was issued on 27 November 2007 alongside the introduction of the Planning Bill in Parliament.

Further information can be found on the Communities and Local Government (CLG): The Planning Bill web page.

 

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