Key insights:
- The SSEP’s zonal targets are likely to shape which projects come forward – but will initially only influence a limited set of planning decisions (for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects).
- Regionally, Spatial Development Strategies (SDS) promise a new route to embed strategic energy planning as a driver and enabler of investment, especially if Regional Energy Strategic Plans lack formal weight in planning decisions.
- Guidance is needed as quickly as possible on how the alignment of SDS and energy planning might work in practice. With coherent priorities and targets firmly rooted in the SSEP, we have a much stronger chance of delivering the clean energy infrastructure we need.
- The complex mix of benefits and challenges for local communities and landscapes are currently being debated largely on a project-by-project basis. The SSEP could offer a stronger evidence base to inform this conversation across the UK, shaping decision-making at an earlier stage.
- For local authorities, the immediate implications remain uncertain – particularly how (and if) the SSEP and RESP will carry weight in local planning decisions.
What is the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP)?
Described as ‘a blueprint for the GB energy system’, the SSEP is being developed by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and is expected to be published in autumn 2027.
The SSEP will map out the optimal zonal locations, quantities and types of electricity and hydrogen generation and storage, and how this aligns with broader land-use priorities. It aims to give developers greater clarity on future needs out to 2050.
How might the SSEP be formally embedded in the planning system?
The zonal targets set out in the SSEP are likely to affect developers’ strategies, shaping where and how quickly projects are brought forward.
At present, the SSEP has a clear but limited route into planning decisions. The Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) already confirms that once the SSEP is endorsed by the relevant governments, it will be considered by the Secretary of State when making decisions on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (such as solar and onshore wind farms above 100 MW and transmission infrastructure).
This is a promising lever, but only applies to a fraction of projects. It remains unclear whether and how the SSEP will affect decisions by local planning authorities, assessed under the Town and Country Planning Act. Similarly, it is unclear whether the complementary Regional Energy System Plans (RESPs) will have any formal weight and therefore be relevant to determining planning decisions. The RESPs are being developed by NESO for 11 areas of the UK and are set to be published by December 2028.
A new opportunity for regions?
However, major changes are coming to the planning system in England at the regional level. These changes present another opportunity to translate the vision of strategic energy planning into planning policy, even if RESPs do not carry formal weight.
In December 2025, the Planning and Infrastructure Act introduced sub-regional Spatial Development Strategies as a new statutory requirement in England. These will set a spatial framework for growth and investment over 20 years, identifying broad locations for development. The strategies should be ready by 2029 and will be mostly produced by mayoral combined authorities.
While apportioning housing needs is likely to be the most pressing concern for many SDSs, they are also expected to set out the type, extent and broad location of strategic infrastructure needed to enable development and serve existing communities. A robust evidence base and clear delivery pipeline will be expected.
This creates a potential route for strategic energy planning to influence local decision making – but only if alignment between the SSEP, RESP and SDS is made clear.
Gaps in guidance
Currently, the draft National Planning Policy Framework describing what SDS should cover only makes a brief reference to ‘utilities provision’. The Local Government Association’s SDS Readiness toolkit mentions NESO as a key organisation to engage with, but there is otherwise a lack of guidance from government or others on how SDSs should interact with the SSEP or RESPs.
Timely, efficient and effective exchanges of data between the teams developing the SSEP, RESP and SDSs will be needed to make the most of this opportunity. The focus should be on avoiding duplication of effort and conflicting modelling and streamlining engagement processes.
The targets, priorities and spatial allocations for energy infrastructure should be consistent – otherwise we risk creating a new layer of complexity that slows, rather than accelerates, delivery of clean energy infrastructure.
How else might the SSEP influence decision-making?
The SSEP may also influence decision-making in subtler ways by addressing some of the challenges projects face earlier in the process, often stemming from misalignment between the planning and energy systems.
The SSEP offers an opportunity to ‘front-load’ consideration of nature and landscapes. It will be informed by a Strategic Environmental Assessment and could help reduce the clustering of infrastructure and the resulting cumulative impact of major energy projects on local communities and landscapes, according to RenewableUK and others.
At a project level, the SSEP may also assist in engaging with local communities. Currently, discussing ‘why now and why here?’ with local communities on a project-by-project basis takes significant time for developers. Having a stronger evidence base could support these conversations, showing that a rigorous, fair approach is being taken across the UK to deliver new infrastructure.
What other levers does the government have to implement the SSEP?
The locational signals arising from the planning system are likely to be bolstered by changes to market mechanisms affecting the commercial viability of projects for developers. The government’s forthcoming Reformed National Pricing Plan is expected to clarify how locational market levers, like TNUoS reform, will be used to help meet the SSEP targets. At Regen, we’re following these developments closely, including Ofgem’s call for input launched last week. We will be sharing our insights soon.
The SSEP has the potential to bring much-needed clarity to where and how energy infrastructure is delivered across the UK. But its impact will depend on how effectively it is translated into planning policy and decision-making at national, regional and local levels.
For local authorities and planners, the priority now is understanding how these emerging frameworks will interact in practice – and ensuring they support, rather than complicate, delivery on the ground.
