Wind industry welcomes PPS22 as the new national planning policy statement for renewable energy

BWEA warmly welcomed the publication of PPS22, the revised national planning policy statement for renewable energy in England. Chris Tomlinson, BWEA Head of Onshore said, “As the emergence of the need for renewables has become abundantly clear, so has the need for a national planning policy statement to guide its development. PPS22 is a vital stepping stone in the renewables revolution providing the much needed link between renewable energy targets and project delivery on the ground. It paves the way for more consistent planning policies and more informed decisions across the country.”

Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy1, sets out a clear national policy framework for planning authorities in England. The statement, published today by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has been developed following the creation of a 10% renewable energy target by 2010. It sets out key objectives and issues for consideration across the range of renewable technologies and these will be fed down the chain to regional and local planning authorities. It also asks these authorities to consider the benefits of renewable energy and asks the nine English regions to establish regional renewable energy targets.

Tomlinson added, “This is a welcome statement and policy guide for planners and Councillors who have until now been working with guidance 11 years old, written at a time when renewable energy targets had not even been set.” At the end of last week BWEA released research2 which revealed it takes nearly twelve months for the average wind farm planning application in England to be determined. PPS22 has been published at an important moment with around 1,000 onshore turbines still required to be achieve consent by the end of 2007 for us to build the additional 1,800 onshore turbines needed to meet our 2010 target on time. PPS22 should help lead to speedier decisions as decision makers become better informed of national energy objectives and planning issues for consideration.

“PPS22 is the first step in a cascading process which will see regional renewable energy targets and dedicated planning policies for renewable energy finding their way into regional and local level plans. The wind industry will continue to work closely with local planning authorities in a combined effort towards meeting the renewable target and creating a clean, green future”. PPS22 will be accompanied by a Best Practice Guide and Technical Annex, towards the end of the year.