The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee has launched a new inquiry to scrutinise the government’s shake up of its National Policy Statement (NPS) for energy.
The government is seeking to align the statement with its policies for achieving net zero emissions by 2050. It published a draft version of the updated NPS in September.
As well as the overarching NPS for energy – EN-1 – the suite of documents includes policy statements for fossil fuels, renewables, gas supply and electricity networks.
The NPS provides the legal and policy framework which the business and energy secretary uses to determine planning applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects such as power stations and wind farms.
Among other things, the BEIS Committee will examine the extent to which the revised NPS reflects the government’s proposals in its energy white paper; supports its net-zero ambitions and communities affected by the delivery of new energy infrastructure; and takes account of sustainability and environmental considerations.
The government is carrying out a separate consultation on the draft NPS, which is due to close on 29 November.