Today, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has confirmed that it will bring forward secondary legislation to exempt all size storage facilities (except pumped hydro) from the national planning regime in England.
BEIS have been looking to amend the planning regime for storage for some time and the ESN has long argued that the 50 MW threshold between the local and national planning regimes was designed for generation projects and thus inappropriate for storage.
This is a well-timed decision from BEIS and shows that the government is keen to see the storage industry grow and progress. It is thanks to the robust evidence and recommendations provided by the ESN, informed by the debates and discussions of members, that BEIS have taken this positive decision.
This decision comes at an opportune time for the energy industry, as we advocate for the role that storage and renewable generation has to play in the green recovery. As outlined in Regen’s analysis of the job creation and economic benefit that renewables and storage could bring, there is a significant pipeline of projects waiting to be built. This decision shows the confidence that the UK Government has in the storage industry and will encourage larger projects to come forward.
