Wind Power: Licensing

Martin Horwood
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for consultation between the proposed infrastructure planning commission and the proposed marine management organisation on the licensing of offshore wind farms producing over 100MW of power.

John Healey
The White Paper ‘Planning for a Sustainable Future’ sets out the process for decisions on development consents for renewable energy developments offshore. Those generating over 100 megawatts would be taken by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), while those up to and including 100MW would be determined by the proposed Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

The MMO will be able to advise the IPC on the marine aspects of these major projects, including on conditions on developments, and will also monitor and enforce compliance. The Planning Bill would give the Secretary of State a power to specify relevant statutory consultees for the pre-application and examination phases, and we will consider whether we will need to exercise this power in relation to the proposed MMO when it is created.