Responding to today’s announcement that the Infrastructure Planning Commission will be abolished, the Renewable Energy Association’s Chief Executive, Gaynor Hartnell, said:

“We welcome the commitment to approve major projects within the current fast-track timeframes. There is a pressing need for new energy infrastructure and the National Policy Statements are key to delivering this.

“The vast majority of renewable energy projects are smaller than 50MW, however, and therefore will not benefit directly from these reforms. We need rapid and consistent decision making for projects approved by local authorities under the Town & Country Planning regime that strikes the balance between local accountability and strategic national priorities.”