Queen announces energy bill

1st June 2015


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Generation ,
  • Renewable ,
  • Devolved government

Author

Emma England

A new energy bill announced in the Queen's speech will transfer consenting powers for wind farms over 50MW from the secretary of state to local councils.

The bill will "change the law in line with the [Conservative's] manifesto commitment to give local communities the final say on wind farm applications", according to Decc. Changes will also be made to the national planning policy framework to ensure the communities affected can decide planning applications for wind farms.

The new rules would not apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland, Decc said. This follows a post-election demand by Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon for Scotland to be given a greater say over any changes to energy policy.

There are only two onshore wind farms over 50MW in the pipeline for England. Three are planned for Wales, but decision-making on these may soon be devolved to the Welsh government. Plans to end subsidies for onshore wind will be delivered separately, Decc said.

The Queen also said the government will "seek effective collaboration" to combat climate change, including at the Paris conference later this year.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

The time is now

Dr Julie Riggs issues a call to arms to tackle a modern-day human tragedy

15th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements could create 15,000 hectares of woodlands, heath, grasslands, and wetlands and absorb 650,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

13th March 2024

Read more

Campaign group Wild Justice has accused the UK government of trying to relax pollution rules for housebuilders “through the backdoor”.

14th February 2024

Read more

Digital tracking, packaging data delays and new collections provide a waste focus for this edition’s environmental round-up by legislation expert Neil Howe

28th November 2023

Read more

Environmental crimes could result in prison sentences of up to 10 years and company fines of 5% of turnover under a proposed EU law agreed by the European parliament and council.

21st November 2023

Read more

Stuart McLachlan and Dean Sanders discuss their book: The Adventure of Sustainable Performance: Beyond ESG Compliance to Leadership in the New Era.

14th November 2023

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close