Focus On Electricity Generation

The Planning Act 2008 introduces a new regime for authorising sixteen types of nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP). This entry focuses on one of these – electricity generation. The new regime is quite different from the existing one and will become compulsory for all new and expanded power stations and renewable generation over a certain size from 1 March 2010.

There is an incentive for additional electricity generation in the next decade for two reasons. First, the UK faces a shortfall of energy supply compared with expected demand as old power stations are brought out of service. New nuclear power stations, to a lesser extent gas-fired power stations, and if 'clean coal' technology can be developed in time, coal-fired power stations, are to deal with this issue.