Revised Energy National Policy Statements

Baroness Sheehan Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Grand Committee

[Baroness Sheehan (LD)]

My Lords, it was good last September to finally have sight of the draft updates for the range of energy-related national policy statements, first introduced a decade ago in 2011. I will restrict my remarks today to the infrastructure that we need to deliver net zero with regard to our shorter-term horizons —for example, the rollout of electric vehicles—and will not be tempted to talk about gas and its phase-out.

These updates, according to the Government, focus on regulatory, policy and technology changes to guide those involved in determining development applications for major infrastructure projects in England and Wales. As the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, pointed out, National Grid is going to be crucial in delivering this. It sits at the heart of Britain’s energy system. It is fully behind the net-zero ambitions and is committed to playing a leading role in enabling the transition, as indeed it must, because without its wholehearted commitment the transition would not be realisable. In its briefing, however, it states that while it was looking forward to the reviewed national policy statements, it has been left rather disappointed. In its view—I would say a rather well-informed one—current drafting does not provide the step change needed to deliver the scale and pace of nationally significant infrastructure development that will be needed to meet the Government’s own net-zero ambition.

That should really give the Government cause for concern. There is no sense of urgency or appreciation of the scale or pace of change needed to deliver nationally significant infrastructure development, which lies at the core of what we are trying to achieve here. I wonder whether BEIS is aware of its concerns and is taking them seriously. We are otherwise in real danger of falling short of meeting the challenging targets that the Government have set on electric vehicle ownership, as an example. These cars will need electricity—a lot of it, as the Minister himself said. The current grid, however, cannot supply what we will need. As an aside, and as the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, mentioned, the Government have to take on board the imperative of reducing demand. One quite effective way of doing that, and one that there is growing public concern about, is to make homes more energy efficient. That would take a lot of demand off the national grid, so I feel that is a real missed opportunity here.

There is also concern about what we are hearing from industry leaders about the importance of BEIS’s offshore transmission network review, which is producing a blueprint known as an holistic network design for the onshore and offshore infrastructure required to connect the Government’s target of 40 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. Why is the crucial work of the OTNR and the HND not explicitly referenced in the draft NPSs?

Another point of concern is that delivering the scale of nationally significant infrastructure needed will inevitably impact on the local communities and environments that host this infrastructure. Industry must have clear guidance from government on the levels of mitigation and compensation that developers are expected to deliver locally. On the flip side, the communities affected must also have some idea of what they will be up against. Communication with industry and local communities is going to be key. I wonder whether BEIS has taken that on board. Unfortunately, the draft NPSs are silent on these points. Again, can the Minister address that, as it will be really important if the infrastructure behind these policy statements is to be successful?

I add that Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, also has real concerns about the lack of a strong focus on net zero. In particular, there is real concern about the fast pace, flexibility and adaptability that will be needed to realise net-zero ambitions. The energy NPSs will therefore need to be revised and updated regularly, certainly more frequently than once a decade, so I ask the Minister: how often will the Government review these NPSs?