CONSENTING & ENVIRONMENT

Introduction

Pathway to Growth Group

Overview

Delivering a low-cost energy system with large quantities of offshore wind will require a streamlined approach to planning and consent decision-making. We're working with Government and other key stakeholders to address the potential environmental impacts of offshore wind while benefitting the broader ecosystem. We're helping consent teams build their knowledge of consenting issues and exploring evidence that we and other industries can implement to make better use of the marine space.

The Pathways to Growth workstream

Pathways to Growth (P2G) is the Sector Deal’s workstream focused on identifying and addressing the key environmental and consenting challenges that will be a barrier to the UK meeting its offshore wind 2030 target and playing its full role in delivering net zero. Recognising the scale of the challenge, P2G brings together government representatives, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs), and industry across the UK’s Devolved Administrations to work together in partnership.

The network of forums, initiatives and programmes in offshore wind consenting is complex.

P2G brings together the key organisations across UK Government, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs), Regulatory Bodies and Industry into a Coordination Group with the purpose of prioritising the most critical environmental and consenting barriers, identifying and mapping the work underway to resolve them and also flag potential gaps in work which might prevent the barrier from being resolved fully. The group also provides a forum to debate and conclude when/whether a prioritised barrier can be or has been resolved.

The P2G Coordination Group ensures we have a wide reach across all the various programmes and initiatives supported by Government, SNCBs, regulatory bodies, industry, NGOs and academia in the UK to capture progress and to influence those programmes and initiatives to focus on the key questions that need to be answered to resolve the prioritised barriers.

The P2G Coordination Group

The work is supported by the P2G Coordination Group. This group have prioritised a list of the 10 biggest environmental and consenting challenges that are causing delays and uncertainty in offshore wind consenting and are working together to resolve these challenges by:

- Maintaining an overview of all the work in consents, licencing and the environment relating to P2G;

- Seeking feedback from their organisations on what is already being done or is needed to provide resolution to the identified barriers;

- Ensuring that these actions complement and enhance the work of existing work programmes and strategic groups;

- Defining a clear road map with commitments to meet the 2030 and net-zero targets; and

- Initiating new work efficiently through existing groups and bodies where gaps emerge or, if this is not possible, identify and drive the relevant means to address the gap.

Challenges in Consenting

The P2G Coordination Group have identified and prioritised the below issues as key barriers causing delay and uncertainty in the consenting process. Actions to solve these issues have been identified in roadmaps – high level timelines showing the key actions that are planned that will solve these issues. The roadmaps are also a tool to help identify opportunities to share best practice, work on common approaches across the UK and discuss and recommend new activities necessary to close any gaps that the road mapping process highlights. Click on each numbered barrier title to access the roadmaps specific to that barrier.

4. Marine Spatial Plan