Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of replacing traditional lattice pylons with the T-pylon in environmentally sensitive areas.

The T-Pylon is an innovative design that won a competition held in 2011 by the Royal British Institute of Architects, DECC and National Grid. The first scheme in which the use of the T-pylon has been proposed is for some sections of the Hinkley Point C Electric Line connection that was granted development consent by the Secretary of State on 19 January 2016. The decision to grant consent was made on the merits of the scheme based on a report and recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate. The Planning Inspectorate’s report and the Secretary of State’s decision can be found at:

http://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-connection/.