Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the threshold to qualify as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project in line with technological progress.

The Government has now introduced legislation to re-introduce onshore wind into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime for projects over 100MW and raise the existing solar threshold from 50MW to 100MW.

This ensures onshore wind projects are treated in the same way and can access the same planning regimes as other types of critical energy infrastructure, such as offshore wind or nuclear power stations.

Setting 100MW thresholds for onshore wind and solar also reflects their technological advancements, ensuring that only the largest and most nationally significant projects enter the NSIP regime.