Infrastructure
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the process is for designating Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks
The thresholds that designate a project as a nationally significant infrastructure project are set out in Planning Act 2008 and spelled out in more detail at the start of the overarching Energy National Policy Statement (EN-1).
The thresholds for England are currently: if it does not generate electricity from wind and it is not an offshore generating station, its capacity must be more than 50 megawatts; and, if it is an offshore generating station, its capacity must be more than 100 megawatts.
The thresholds for Wales are: if it does not generate electricity from wind, its capacity must be more than 350 megawatts; and, if it is in waters adjacent to Wales up to the seaward limits of the territorial sea, or in the Welsh zone, its capacity must be more than 350 megawatts.
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