Planning Act Blog 192: Minister Takes Heat over Energy National Policy Statements as Nuclear Events Announced

This is entry number 192, first published on 30 November 2010, of a blog on the implementation of the Planning Act 2008. Click here for a link to the whole blog. If you would like to be notified when the blog is updated, with links sent by email, click here.

Today's entry reports on Parliamentary and public meetings considering the energy National Policy Statements.

Six energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) were first published in November 2009. NPSs set out the need for new infrastructure, and what applicants should assess and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) should consider when applications are made.

Public consultation was carried out on these and over 3000 responses were made. There was also parliamentary scrutiny of the drafts, consisting of ten committee sessions in the Commons, and three in the Lords, a committee report from the Commons and a debate on the floor of the House of Lords.

Last month, revised versions of each of the six NPSs and accompanying documents were published (see blog entry). Although the revised NPSs have not changed a great deal, the Appraisals of Sustainability (AoSs) that are published with them have, particularly in how they deal with alternatives. The number of identified sites for nuclear power stations was also reduced from ten to eight, two in Cumbria being dropped.

Parliamentary scrutiny

The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee of the House of Commons held its single session today considering the revised NPSs. Charles Hendry MP, energy minister, accompanied by Anne Stuart and Hergen Haye of DECC, was quizzed by the members of the committee.

As usual, the members asked a variety of questions not necessarily sticking to the topics previously set out. Although the members do not speak with one voice, if there was a theme, it was that the government was foolish to commit itself to carbon capture and storage (CCS), which had not even been invented yet, as the solution to low-carbon electricity generation, while ignoring, or at least not sufficiently supporting, nuclear power.

Albert Owen discoved that the government had not decided yet which Secretary of State would decide applications for nationally significant energy projects - energy and climate change or commmunities and local government. DECC had the greatest policy involvement, but might be seen to have a vested interest in granting permissions. It was suggested this might be revealed in the Localism Bill, but I suspect it will...