How Will the Planning and Infrastructure Bill Affect Energy Projects in the UK?

What is the Planning and Infrastructure Bill 2025?

The recently published Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to accelerate the delivery of much-needed housing and vital infrastructure across England. It is designed to support the government’s Plan for Change by helping to meet key targets, including the construction of 1.5 million safe and high-quality homes and the fast-tracking of 150 major planning decisions on significant infrastructure projects before the current parliament ends. The bill also plays a central role in advancing the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan by ensuring that essential clean energy developments can progress without unnecessary delay.

The bill includes key updates which will facilitate the consenting process for energy projects across the UK, particularly Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). This is part of the government’s plan to achieve clean power by 2030, which also includes an overhaul of the grid connection queue so that viable projects are prioritised.

The government sees the planning process as key to delivering this goal and unlocking Britain’s wealth of clean energy resources.

Key planning reforms affecting Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

The relevant provisions contained in Part 1 of the bill relating to NSIPs include:

• A mandatory requirement for all National Policy Statements (NPSs) to be updated at least every five years in order to reflect the government’s priorities and support faster decisions on individual applications (which would include EN-1 and EN-3).
• A new provision to allow the Secretary of State to disapply the requirement for development consent for a particular development where it is appropriate for an alternative consenting regime to apply. For energy projects, this will apply where the proposed development is comprised in a Renewable Energy Zone.
• Amendments to the definition of ‘consultation report’ in the Planning Act 2008 to reduce the level of detail required in these reports.

Changes to provisions relating to acceptance of DCO applications, providing that applications need to be “of a standard that is suitable to proceed to examination” (rather than a “satisfactory standard” as previously required) with minor amendments allowed if needs be to meet such standard.

Scrapping the ‘paper permission’ stage for legal challenges to NSIPs so that cases can be determined to be “totally without merit” by the High Court at an oral hearing.

Grid connection and electricity transmission: major updates

In terms of electricity transmission, the bill includes the following:

• The Secretary of State and Ofgem may modify (or instruct the NESO or DNOs to modify) electricity licences for a period of three years following the date of the bill becoming enacted. Such modifications should be made for the purposes of improving the process of managing connections to the grid.
• Provisions for a Long Duration Electricity Storage scheme for the purpose of encouraging the development and use of long duration electricity storage installations.
• Extension of the period during which an asset can transmit electricity without requiring a generation licence from 18 months to 27 months (specifically of benefit to offshore assets which are required to undergo more rigorous testing prior to commissioning).

Provisions to grant powers to “appropriate forestry authorities” (Forestry Commissioners in England and the Natural Resources Body for Wales), to use and permit the use of forestry land for the generation, transmission, storage and supply of electricity from renewable sources.

Conclusion: what does this mean for the energy sector?

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill 2025 signals a clear commitment from the government to accelerate the delivery of energy infrastructure, particularly clean and renewable projects. From reforming the NSIP process to improving grid connection and enabling new storage solutions, the changes aim to remove bottlenecks and provide greater certainty for developers. Energy clients should start preparing now to take advantage of the streamlined processes and new opportunities the bill introduces.

How we can help

Our planning lawyers work closely with energy developers across the UK to ensure projects stay compliant and on track. If you’d like to discuss how the Planning and Infrastructure Bill could impact your development, get in touch with our specialist team today.