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Draft Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN–1)

My Lords, if I have confused the House, I apologise. With the kind of capacity that we think needs to be available by 2025, we believe that around 25 gigawatts of low-carbon non-renewable energy are likely to be required. The nuclear industry is very welcome to make applications for new nuclear power stations in that context. I do not believe that we have placed any arbitrary limit; equally, we were being helpful in describing the kind of scenario that we thought would be required going up to 2025 in relation to both renewable and non-renewable energy. In the end, it will be up to the developer to put forward the application and for the IPC to come to a view on it. Essentially what we are signalling is that nuclear energy has a very important role to play in future. If the noble Lord invites me to say that again from the Dispatch Box, I am only too willing to do that. I turn to the very interesting point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, on the duties of statutory harbour authorities. Clearly one issue is the respective responsibilities of the IPC in relation to planning consent and other statutory bodies in relation to safety issues, both inland and on the sea. It is clear that the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, is not satisfied with the current regulatory regime in relation to tanker movements and the role of the port authorities. I shall come on to that. Since I have had a little time to discover a little more about the subject, I shall point out what action can be taken by government. On planning, the IPC is responsible for determining development consent for an LNG facility in England, although that is slightly different in Wales and Scotland. I take the English situation as an example, however. LNG import facilities are most likely to be sited on the coast; they will have unloading facilities including a jetty, onshore storage capacity for the LNG and regasification plant. The safety of installation in such cases is enforced jointly by the HSE and the Environment Agency under the COMAH regulations. This enforcement continues throughout the life cycle of the installation from the design and build stage through to decommissioning. Under these arrangements applicants will need to assess the safety risks and how to control or mitigate them. The IPC will consult the HSE about the applicant’s compliance—