IPC projects could provide £50 billion of international investment

The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is now accepting proposals for major energy and transport projects that have the potential to provide up to £50 billion worth of international investment.

The proposals include 17 energy schemes that together have the capability to generate enough electricity to power more than three quarters of all UK homes and could help drive economic growth and create new jobs.

The number of energy schemes that are waiting to be considered has grown to a potential 22GW of new electricity generating capacity.

Many of the new projects that will be considered by the IPC will use renewable energy, including Atlantic Array windfarm – project by RWE NPower in the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea offshore windfarm – project by Centrica in the Irish Sea between the Isle of Man and Anglesey.

The IPC is a new development consent process for large projects such as large wind farms, power stations and major roads. It combines up to eight former planning systems into a single process and will cut the decision making time from up to seven years to under a year, saving the country £300 million a year.

The planning system used to in some cases, take ten years between a company’s decision to invest in a new project and the delivery of energy to the national grid.

Planning Minister John Healey said: "If we are to be competitive in the global economy and have a good quality of life, it is clear we need a better system for planning and building the infrastructure the country needs."

"In the next 15 years, we will need to replace about a third of out electricity generating capacity to keep pace with demand, and make much greater use of renewable energy or we will fail to meet our ambitious low-carbon goals."

Further information:
Infrastructure Planning Commission