Energy NPS Updates: Key Changes Following Government Consultation

National Policy Statements (“NPSs”) were designated under the Planning Act 2008 to provide a framework for decision-making on nationally significant infrastructure projects (“NSIP”). In July 2024, the government began reviewing the energy NPSs (EN-1 to EN-5) and published revised drafts for EN-1, EN-3 and EN-5 in April 2025.

Following a consultation period, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (“DESNZ”) as the relevant Secretary of State department has announced that it will proceed to implement the revised energy NPSs, with some additional amendments in response to consultation feedback.

This article provides an overview of the key proposed changes to the EN-1, EN-3 and EN-5 which formed part of the previous consultation, as well as summarising the further changes made following the consultation.

The Revised NPSs

The consultation ran from 24 April to 29 May 2025 and received 189 responses, covering the proposed updates to three NPSs: the overarching energy statement (EN-1), renewable energy infrastructure (EN-3), and electricity networks infrastructure (EN-5).

The key changes in the drafts that were considered during the consultation included:

• Clean Power 2030: EN-1 embedded the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, prioritising 95% clean electricity by 2030 and aligning Critical National Priority (“CNP”) policy with a presumption in favour of consent for qualifying projects, excluding Energy from Waste.
• Onshore Wind: EN-3 brought onshore wind projects over 100MW back into the NSIP regime with technology-specific assessment principles for impacts and design.
• Offshore Wind: EN-3 introduced guidance on wake effects, requiring reasonable mitigation and collaboration while confirming no obligation to eliminate impacts or provide compensation through planning.
• Electricity Networks: EN-5 incorporated the Electricity Transmission Design Principles and links decision-making to the CSNP, removing the need to examine project need or technology type where CSNP alignment exists.

Government Response to the Consultation

The government has responded to consultation feedback by making mostly technical clarifications to the draft NPS texts, improving clarity on how CNP status is applied, balancing infrastructure need against local impacts, and addressing the wake effects issue in offshore wind. Concerns about planning system capacity and the role of Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) were acknowledged, with references to ongoing planning reforms aimed at improving planning capacity and decision-making.

The four key areas of change are outlined below:

Clean Power 2030 and CNP

April 2025 Position: The revised EN‑1 embedded the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan as the primary policy driver, aiming for at least 95% clean electricity by 2030 and aligning the CNP policy with that mission. It clarified how CNP status operates in decision‑making, with a presumption in favour of consent for qualifying projects, subject to balancing against other material considerations; energy‑from‑waste was excluded as it did not fall within the definition of a “clean power” technology under the Plan.

Post-Consultation Changes: Further to concerns raised during the consultation process, references to capacity figures have been removed to avoid any perception of hard ‘caps’, with the government confirming that these were not intended to implement a “fixed ceiling on technology deployment or project approvals”. EN-1 clarifies the weight given to CNP schemes in order to meet the Clean Power 2030 Mission, while confirming that statutory and environmental duties remain fully in play. It also links explicitly to strategic network planning through the CSNP and the emerging Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. The updated EN-1, as drafted, explicitly states that Energy from Waste (EfW) developments are not critical to meeting the Clean Power 2030 Mission and therefore EfW developments will not benefit from CNP status.

The linkage between the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and EN-1 certainly demonstrates the government’s ambition in relation to Net Zero, however in practice one of the key concerns raised throughout the consultation process was that there is limited resourcing from local planning authorities (LPAs) and other key stakeholders. This is acknowledged in the government’s response to the consultation, with a note that the government is committed to supporting LPAs through wider planning reform. However, these solutions are unlikely to alleviate concerns in the short term, and it is currently unclear how the lack of resource will be addressed in time such that LPA and stakeholder engagement can be supported to facilitate expedient delivery of renewable energy development in line with the Clean Power 2030 Mission.

Onshore wind

April 2025 Position: EN‑3 reintroduced onshore wind over 100MW into the NSIP regime and set out technology‑specific assessment principles for impacts and design.

Post-Consultation Changes: EN-3 tightens safeguards for irreplaceable habitats (including peat), aligns landscape and visual guidance, as well as clarifying what “localised” effects mean and tidying terminology (e.g., noise). It also signals support for repowering and life extension of existing sites.

Bringing onshore wind over 100MW back into the NSIP regime will be a positive move for renewable energy developers as this means onshore wind proposals (over 100MW, of course) will benefit from CNP status, and in practice this will result in a much greater likelihood of consent being granted. The updates to the draft NPSs highlight that the government clearly recognises the strategic importance of onshore wind development for the Clean Power 2030 Mission.

Offshore wind

April 2025 Position: EN‑3 addressed inter‑array wake effects, expecting reasonable mitigation and collaboration between projects while confirming there is no expectation to eliminate wake effects or to agree compensation through the planning system.

Post-Consultation Changes: EN-3 adopts a “reasonable steps/good neighbour” approach to wake effects, confirms compensation is a commercial matter (not a planning requirement), strengthens wording on coastal erosion and habitat restoration, and updates interfaces with offshore transmission and fisheries terminology.

In seeking to bring clarity to wake effects, and how they will be considered as part of DCO applications, the government has provided little to no clarity, other than confirming (through the consultation and not the policy itself) that there is no requirement to consider physical mitigation measures. Compensation for wake effects is said to remain as a commercial matter.

Electricity networks

April 2025 Position: EN‑5 introduced the Electricity Transmission Design Principles (ETDP) and aligned decision‑making with holistic network planning, including the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), so that where a project aligns with the CSNP, the need case and technology type need not be examined in the consenting process.

Post-Consultation Changes: EN-5 will endorse the need case for CSNP once its NESO’s strategic environmental assessment (and any other assessments, including HRA, which may be required) is complete. This alignment should avoid re-litigating the needs case or technology choices during examination for any CNSP infrastructure. In relation to the Electricity Transmission Design Principles (EDTP) (which will be subject to consultation by NESO), the updated draft EN-5 makes clear that Applicants should have regard to the ETDP alongside the Holford and Horlock Rules.

The formal adoption of the CSNP and the ETDP into the NPSs will be a positive step forward for transmission developers and the updated EN-1 confirms that “where a project is assessed and justified through a CSNP, the Secretary of State will take the need for that project as having been established and not question the need for that project during the consenting process”.

Next steps

The revised NPSs will now be laid before Parliament for a 21-sitting-day consideration period, after which they will be published on Welcome to GOV.UK . Once in force, the 2025 NPSs (EN-1, EN-3 and EN-5) will apply to all development consent applications accepted for examination from that point onward. Applications already accepted for examination before these come into force will continue to be determined under the 2024 NPSs.

This article was co-authored by Olivia Seymour.