Debate contribution: Green Growth: Removal of Barriers

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew McMurray on 17 September 2024.

MLA

Mr Andrew McMurray

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

17 September 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Green Growth: Removal of Barriers

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4537389

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I support the motion. Green growth must be a priority for Northern Ireland, and I was glad to see that recognised in the draft Programme for Government. An economy that is based on green growth will be good for Northern Ireland and for the planet. It will benefit us all in many ways: it will help the economy, our environment, our health and our climate. I look forward to the green growth strategy, which will be an important step on the way to achieving that goal. There are many challenges to overcome, one of which is our planning system and the barriers that it presents to developing the renewable energy infrastructure that we urgently need. We currently get about 45% of our electricity consumption from renewable sources and have a statutory target of achieving 80% by 2030. We made good, strong progress between 2005 and 2016, which helped us to exceed the target of 40% by 2020, but, since then, we have really slowed down. In fact, in the eight years since 2016, we have added only 5%. We now have only six years left to make up the remaining 35% that we will need in order to meet our target, which is concerning. Recently, back in June, the Infrastructure Committee heard eye-opening evidence from Renewables NI and two renewable energy companies. There are a number of key barriers, one of which is the sheer amount of time that it takes to get renewables applications over the line. Furthermore, major planning applications have a 30-week target, but applications for wind farms take, on average, three years to be processed, and waiting times are increasing. That affects the grid infrastructure too: my constituency of South Down does not currently have the grid infrastructure needed to take on renewable energy sources or to start operating existing ones. As one engineer put it to me, it could take four to five years to sort that out. That needs to be addressed in any forthcoming strategy. Why are those planning applications taking so long? Staffing in planning departments is an issue. I hope that the Department will look at how existing planning officers can be trained and upskilled. Another reason is that some statutory consultees take a very long time to respond. Technically, they have a target of three weeks, but they often take over a year to respond, and all struggle to provide responses within 21 days. Again, the lack of resources and the lack of specialist staff who can assess complex applications contribute to the problem. We also lack hard deadlines to hold statutory consultees to account. Scotland and the Republic of Ireland have clear timelines and hard deadlines, and they do not experience the same delays. There are other statutory constraints. Planning departments cannot take the climate crisis into account when processing an application. We should consider prioritising applications that help to increase our renewable capacity: not to approve them at all costs where valid environmental concerns and reasons tell us otherwise but to give them a fair chance of making it through the system in a reasonable time frame. Referrals to the Planning Appeals Commission can lead to further delays. Since planning was devolved to councils, 100% of major planning applications for renewable energy infrastructure have gone to the Planning Appeals Commission. By the time that the appeal is decided, the technology is often outdated. The application needs to be amended and goes back to square one and further consultation. It is not surprising that such delays are putting developers off. Renewables NI found that 82% of renewable energy developers now think that Northern Ireland is not an attractive place in which to invest. We need to take note of that alarming statistic. I want to end on a hopeful note. There are enough onshore wind proposals in the planning pipeline to meet the 80% by 2030 target, if they can be processed in time for connection by 2030. Reaching that target will be key to our goal of achieving a thriving green economy. We need a green new deal and fundamental reform in order to create a planning system that delivers on all three pillars of sustainable development: the environment, society and the economy. There are a few more asks: pre-application discussions and checklists for all major applications will help with waiting times, and those are already under way. Introducing statutory time frames for determining renewable energy applications will be another avenue to explore. Finally, the process for developing local development plans needs to be streamlined to ensure that there is a functional planning system.

766 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:11 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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