The Government today (23rd June) published its finalised National Policy Statements for energy (NPSs) in advance of a debate in Parliament. This follows an extensive public consultation earlier this year which received over two and a half thousand responses, Parliamentary Scrutiny of the revised draft energy national policy statement, and the outputs of the interim report of the Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, on lessons to be learned from events at Fukushima.

The NPSs form a key part of our plans to move to a low carbon future while protecting the security of the UK’s energy supplies. NPSs will provide market certainty by giving developers confidence to bring forward applications to build the infrastructure we need. This will ensure the UK has diverse sources of generation and remains at the forefront of low carbon technological development, and in turn will enable us to generate jobs and growth in this rapidly expanding sector.

NPSs do this by setting out the need for new energy infrastructure, including electricity from a mixed portfolio of all types of generation. They provide a clear framework for decision making on planning applications for major energy infrastructure, whilst protecting local communities from unacceptable impacts.

The Nuclear NPS (EN-6) lists the eight sites the Government has identified as potentially suitable for the deployment of new nuclear power stations by 2025. The eight sites are: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, South Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa in Anglesey. Dungeness in Kent and Braystones and Kirksanton in Cumbria have been confirmed as not potentially suitable.

The Government is also today publishing a Government response to the latest consultation; a response to Parliamentary scrutiny; a draft of the Post Adoption Statement on the Appraisals of Sustainability (AoS) which informed the drafting of the NPSs; and the monitoring strategy which sets out how we will monitor the significant environmental effects of implementation of the NPSs. Copies of all these documents along with the finalised NPSs and AoSs are available at http://www.energynpsconsultation.decc.gov.uk.

The Government’s final proposed energy NPSs will be debated in Parliament and voted on. If approved we intend to designate as soon as possible afterwards.

Kind Regards,

NPS Consultation Team