Published 30 March 2023
Last updated 22 November 2023 — See all updates
Draft National Policy
Statements for energy infrastructure: government
response
Detail of outcome
We made a significant number of amendments to the text of the
Energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) based on the feedback
to this consultation. Responses focused in particular on the
definition and scope of the critical national policy criterion,
and environmental and community impacts.
As a result the critical national priority criterion, a key
revision to these new National Policy statements, has been
strengthened and encompasses all low carbon infrastructure.
View the latest National Policy Statements
for energy infrastructure.
Government is committed to keeping these National Policy
Statements under review and to updating them in 5 years.
Detail of feedback received
We received 157 responses from:
- industry
- members of the public
- other interested parties
and an additional 751 through related campaigns.
Original consultation Summary
We're seeking views on the revised energy National Policy
Statements that support decisions on major energy infrastructure.
This consultation ran from
10:15am on 30 March 2023 to 11:45pm on 23 June
2023
Consultation description
Update: 25 May 2023
This consultation for the energy National Policy Statements has
been extended and will now close at 11:45pm on Friday 23
June 2023.
Please note that question 7 in the consultation document was
inadvertently not included in the online survey. If you have
already responded to this consultation, your response is
still valid and you do not need to resubmit. However,
you may wish to submit an additional response to question 7, if
you have not already done so.
If you have not responded to this consultation, you now have
until 11:45pm on Friday 23 June 2023 to do so.
For the avoidance of doubt question 7 states:
Draft EN-5 includes a strong starting presumption for overhead
lines for electricity networks developments outside nationally
designated landscapes, which was consulted on in 2021. Do you
agree?
If you have any questions, please contact energyNPS@beis.gov.uk.
The energy National Policy Statements (NPS) set out the government’s
policy for the delivery of energy infrastructure and provide the
legal framework for planning decisions. They were first designated and published
in 2011.
A review of the NPS was announced in the 2020
Energy white paper:
Powering our net zero future. This review was to ensure the
NPSs were brought up to date to reflect the policies set out in
the white paper.
We held a public consultation on the revised NPSs EN1 to EN5 in
2021, and have published a government response.
We have strengthened the process for delivering major new energy
infrastructure in England and Wales, reinforcing the country’s
national priorities regarding energy security, reducing costs,
and delivering on net zero, while creating new green jobs and
industries for the UK.
Covering renewables, carbon capture and hydrogen, oil and gas
pipelines and electricity networks, the updates are expected to
speed up the planning process so that low-carbon generation can
be brought forward at the right time and in the right places,
whilst protecting and enhancing the environment on land and sea
and ensuring local views are taken into account.
This consultation is more focused and seeks views on:
- clarifying that offshore wind is now a critical national
priority, including the related onshore and offshore network
infrastructure
- to deliver the 50GW of offshore wind including 5GW of
floating wind, we need to cut the process time by over half. The
government therefore announced it was introducing the offshore
wind environmental improvement package to help accelerate
deployment of offshore wind, whilst protecting and enhancing the
marine environment
- strengthening the electricity networks NPS to include more detail on
the role of strategic planning of networks, which considers the
network as a whole, rather than just individual transmission
projects
- updating the civil and military aviation and defence
interests to reflect the status of energy developments, including
offshore wind, and how impacts to civil and military aviation,
meteorological radars and other types of defence interests should
be managed
Documents
Planning for new energy
infrastructure: revised draft National Policy Statements -
consultation document
