Wednesday 21 October 2009

Government’s fast-track plan for power will raise hackles

The Government is likely to anger local campaigners today as it announces a list of nuclear reactors, high-voltage power lines and giant wind farms that it wants to fast-track through Britain’s planning system by using new powers it obtained this month.
The list of 11 significant energy and transport infrastructure projects is being published today by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), a new government-backed body set up this month in the biggest shake-up to Britain’s planning regime in 60 years.
The IPC’s goal is to accelerate the process of securing planning consent for projects considered to be of national importance from as long as seven years at present to less than a year.
The projects include EDF’s plan to build two giant nuclear reactors at Sizewell, Suffolk, and Hinkley Point, Somerset, and two stretches of high-voltage transmission lines, totalling 54 miles (86km), linking them to the National Grid.
The proposed link to Sizewell includes 90 pylons and a 400,000-volt overhead cable passing through the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Colchester.
Robert Erith, president of the Dedham Vale Society, which opposes the plans, that said he would fight them all the way: “The opposition is going to be massive. This is a priceless piece of landscape that is worth preserving.”
Sir Michael Pitt, the IPC chairman, said that the new body would weigh all opinions carefully. “The projects we are highlighting today raise important issues for the nation and for local communities, and we want the public to have confidence that their views will be heard,” he said.
“The IPC will not accept any application where it considers that the consultation process has been unsatisfactory or the community’s concerns have not been addressed.”
The list has been published as the CBI called for Britain to accelerate its plans for new nuclear stations.
Neil Bentley, the CBI director of business environment, said that Britain would need up to 12 new reactors by 2030 to avoid blackouts and meet its target of cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
He said: “With most existing nuclear plants due to close within ten years, we urgently need new reactors to come on stream.”
Source: The Times

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