DECC continues to work with industry and to identify and remove any barriers to further investment in gas infrastructure.
Offshore developments
The Energy Act 2008 establishes a fit-for-purpose consents regime for offshore facilities. The first Gas Storage Licence under the Energy Act was issued, for a major proposed gas storage project in February 2010.
Onshore developments
The Planning Act 2008 is designed to make the planning process easier for all nationally significant infrastructure projects, including gas supply infrastructure. The Act streamlines the consent process and encourages investment in onshore projects in three stages:
- a strategic stage – ministers publish national policy statements for infrastructure development, with public consultation
- a project development stage – local consultation is carried out at the pre-application stage
- a decision stage – an infrastructure planning commission (IPC) manages enquiries and individual applications
The new Infrastructure Planning Commission, under this Act, opened to receive planning applications on 1 March 2010.
The Gas Act 1965 - Saltfleetby Gas Field Gas Storage project
The Secretary of State gave the go ahead on 9 September 2010, following a public inquiry, for a gas storage project at Saltfleetby Gas Field in Lincolnshire. The three decision letters, Storage Authorisation Order, and Inspector’s Report are below:
Public information leaflets
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), along with the Health and Safety Executive and British Geological Survey, has produced two public information leaflets about gas supply infrastructure:
These offer a good introduction to natural gas, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and issues such as safety, environmental concerns, planning consents and the location of projects.