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New nuclear power stations and wind farms risk being held up by planning delays, energy companies warned on Tuesday.
The warning came after the government confirmed that national policy statements setting out the need for such investments would not be published until the autumn.
Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary, will on Wednesday set out his plans for cutting Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions and his strategy for encouraging the growth of renewable energy.
But energy companies warned that his plans were threatened by obstructions in the planning process.
National policy statements, in which the government will set out the country’s need for new energy infrastructure, are being prepared for nuclear power, renewable energy, electricity networks, fossil-fuel generation and oil and gas pipelines and storage.
These statements are intended to guide both the new Infrastructure Planning Commission, the independent body that will decide on strategic projects of national importance from October, and local planning authorities. They are seen as vital for removing some of the barriers that have delayed important projects such as the London Array, intended to be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, which was held up by a local planning authority.
John Healey, the minister for housing and planning, said on Tuesday the statements would be published in the autumn, after which they would be subject to consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
