Two Bills announced in the Queen’s Speech will potentially help reach the net-zero ambitions set out in the Energy Security Strategy announced last month.

The Energy Bill and Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will, respectively, reform the planning system, that could ease pressure on wind generation of energy, as at present, it can take over ten years to fully develop an offshore wind farm from start to finish and waiting times for decisions on planning permission can take up to four years.

The Energy Bill will, among other measures, establish a new Future System Operation to take over the functions of National Grid ESO and have a wider remit to provide ‘strategic oversight across electricity and gas systems [and] drive progress towards net-zero, energy security and minimising consumer costs’.

Responding to the Queen’s Speech Dan McGrail, CEO of RenewableUK, said: “It’s vital that new legislation announced in the Queen’s Speech enables us to build cheap new renewable energy more quickly, as speed is key to boosting home-grown energy and cutting bills for consumers. Government has put low carbon power at the heart of Britain’s Energy Security Strategy, including a target of quadrupling offshore wind by 2030, so we need to ensure that the frameworks for planning and connecting new energy projects supports this target, as well as longer-term growth needed for net-zero”.

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