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Electricity Consents (Planning) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the draft Electricity Consents (Planning) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The noble Lord said: This order would introduce provisions amending the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 to bring consents for electricity projects in Northern Ireland broadly into line with those in Great Britain. The Great Britain arrangements with which those in Northern Ireland are being brought into line have existed since 1990, so it is not something that has just happened. It broadly reflects what has happened since 1990. I shall comment briefly on what we are seeking to achieve with this order and then comment on the two detailed provisions. In Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the world, demand for energy continues to grow. With that increased demand comes the danger of global warming and climate change. I know that noble Lords recognise that climate change is with us and that there is a necessity to take up the challenges associated with it. Renewable energy is something that Northern Ireland is uniquely placed to develop, as it has an abundance of wind, tidal and marine current potential and the opportunity to expand the contribution of renewables in a growing all-island energy market. It is with this in mind that the Secretary of State has made a commitment to establish Northern Ireland as a world leader in the development of renewable energy. The order will streamline the electricity consent procedures for developers by, for the first time, charging one department with the responsibility of managing a combined consent process for electricity generating projects. The order will enable the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to grant deemed planning permission and deemed hazardous substance consent on applications for consent to construct, extend or operate an electricity generating station under Article 39, or consent to install overhead electric lines under Article 40 of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992. Rather than the current dual process whereby a developer must apply to the Department of the Environment for planning permission or hazardous substance consent and to DETI for electricity generating consent, there will instead be one point of entry and one contact point for the developer. DETI will have the lead role in managing applications. I want to make this absolutely clear, so that there is no misunderstanding: there is one entry for one consent to effectively two departments. All planning and environmental safeguards currently in place will remain and be operated. Doing it concurrently through one department rather than two will save time and money, which is in everybody’s interests. The order will ensure that electricity consent applications, the vast majority of which we anticipate will be from renewable energy sources such as wind farms, are dealt with as a high priority and as efficiently and effectively as possible. I repeat that there is no attempt in the order to circumvent or cut the normal planning and environment safeguards. All applications will go through that process, but there will be one entry into government instead of entry through two departments. There are two provisions in the order. Article 2 sets out the power of the department to grant deemed planning consent and deemed hazardous substance consent. Article 2 also inserts new provisions into the 1992 order to enable the department to prescribe procedures for notification of and objections to the application for electricity consent, to set out requirements for notification of a public inquiry and to appoint additional inspectors to assist in conducting an inquiry. Article 3 amends the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order prohibiting planning and electricity consent procedures being carried out concurrently. That is a very important process of trying to speed the process up and cut out red tape. The measures in this draft order lay the necessary foundations for ensuring that consent for important electricity generating projects is prioritised and dealt with efficiently. There is a responsibility for managing combined consents for electricity generating projects where they belong, with the DETI, which has responsibility for the strategic development of an efficient, economic and environmentally sustainable electricity industry in Northern Ireland. It is as simple as that—and it makes you wonder why on earth this was not done years ago. The fact of the matter is that the push that the Secretary of State wants to give in Northern Ireland to environmentally friendly renewables leads us to the view that we should remove the hurdles and barriers, some of which are plain red tape. In a way this is red tape, because there is no change to the process or the way in which consent will be looked at by planning and environment or the DETI. It is just that consent will be applied for via one department instead of two and given by one department instead of two. So it helps everybody all around. There is no attempt to circumvent the planning and environmental regulations in this order. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the draft Electricity Consents (Planning) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.—(Lord Rooker.)