The report highlights the highs and lows of the NSIP system. Image: Flickr.

Three organisations from across the energy sector have released a report examining how the UK’s solar energy planning system could be improved to hit renewable energy capacity targets.

Trade body RenewableUK, ryside charity CPRE and sustainable business organisation Aldersgate Group have released the interim findings of their investigation into the UK’s onshore renewable energy planning system, in a report titled Insights for the decarbonised electricity system: journeys through planning.

The report, which focuses on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), examines the successes and failures of the planning system from the point of view of three kinds of user: energy developers, local communities, and the environment, which was labelled as a “user” of the planning system given the requirements for environmental consideration within these processes.

Overall, this stage of the investigation identified five major issues with the current NSIP regime. These are the lack of strategic plans, joined-up policy and public engagement, resourcing challenges across the system, difficulties in efficiently sourcing adequate data, inherent uncertainties in the process that exacerbate other issues, and the need for complex trade-offs to balance conflicting interests.

As such, the report’s authors have made several early recommendations for improving the system, urging the government to involve planning experts, communities, environmental groups and infrastructure developers in developing upcoming policy changes and also noting that the government should invest in capacity building.

 This report is the first stage of a detailed investigation, with more detailed findings and policy recommendations due to be published this autumn. The next stage of this project will examine in more detail the ideas of strategic planning and how it can help address existing challenges in the system as well as develop best practice ideas for early engagement in the planning process.

Solar NSIPs, planning challenges, and the environment

The planning process for solar projects has been in the public eye of late, with the new Labour government granting development consent orders (DCOs) for three solar NSIPs that had previously had planning decisions delayed by the previous administration.

More recently, minister of state Matthew Pennycook granted planning permission for a 23MW solar development with 57MW of battery storage. While not an NSIP, this project has drawn attention for its somewhat turbulent approval process, having previously been approved by Warwickshire District Council in 2023, before then-secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ‘called-in’, or took over, planning decisions related to the project after a Conservative MP asked for the project to be refused planning permission. Since taking over the minister of state role, Matthew Pennycook has been vocal in his support of the UK solar sector.

Meanwhile, the report notes that environmental NGOs generally viewed the NSIP process positively, and the potential benefits of some forms of energy infrastructure as an opportunity for nature recovery was highlighted. Solar projects, in particular, have been identified as potential “havens for biodiversity”, with many large studies into the potential benefit of solar farms on local biodiversity currently underway.

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