Business Green: Planning restrictions removed for solar power
The government's plans to exempt a large number of small-scale renewable energy technologies from planning permission should remove one of the major costs related to installation of onsite renewables and provide a boost to the industry, according to industry experts.
Under proposals released earlier this week for consultation, the government is planning to extend the so-called "permitted development rights" that already allow homeowners to install solar panels without planning permission to cover air source heat pumps and small-scale wind turbines.
Businesses would enjoy an even wider relaxation of planning rules with solar panels, ground and water source heat pumps, flues for biomass and combined heat and power systems, and larger wind turbines that are up to 15m tall all granted permitted development rights for the first time. Meanwhile, agricultural and forestry sites would be able to install anaerobic digestion systems, biomass technologies and small-scale hydroelectric turbines without necessarily applying for planning permission.
Housing minister John Healey said the aim of the proposed reforms was to ensure those individuals and businesses that want to install renewable energy systems "get a helping hand, not a stop sign". "Our planning rules need to catch up with changing technologies and allow people to take the small measures that make big differences," he said. "Not only could this save up to hundreds of pounds in fuel bills, it will also help the environment."
The government added that all new installations would still be subject to safeguards governing noise and environmental impacts, but industry insiders welcomed the proposed changes, arguing they would remove much of the red tape that has discouraged businesses in particular from investing in onsite renewables.
"A number of issues tend to drive up costs for onsite renewables, and planning is one of the main ones," said Leonnie Greene of the Renewable Energy Association. "Getting planning permission is still a huge issue for small-scale installations – the new Infrastructure Planning Commission only covers projects with more than 50MW capacity, so most projects still face planning challenges. Anything to lower those barriers would be helpful."