NPS EN-3 - National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure

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What EN-3 Does

EN-3 is the technology-specific National Policy Statement for nationally significant renewable electricity generating infrastructure. It sits alongside EN-1 (the Overarching Energy NPS) and applies to all DCO applications for renewable NSIPs under the Planning Act 2008.

EN-3 does not repeat EN-1. It supplements EN-1 with technology-specific need cases, site selection factors, and assessment requirements for each covered renewable technology.

Current status: The 2024 version (designated 17 January 2024) was withdrawn on 7 January 2026 and superseded by a 2025 revision. The 2024 version governs applications accepted before that date.

Technology Coverage and NSIP Thresholds

Onshore wind applications in England are determined under the Town and Country Planning Act, not the Planning Act 2008 NSIP route. EN-3 explicitly excludes it.

Solar capacity is measured on AC inverter output from the date of the 2024 NPS designation (previously assessed on DC panel capacity).

Relationship with EN-1

EN-1 sets the overarching need case, the Critical National Priority (CNP) framework, and generic assessment requirements (air quality, noise, ecology, heritage, flooding, etc.). All of EN-1 Parts 3-5 apply to EN-3 applications unless stated otherwise.

EN-3 adds technology-specific need assessments, site selection factors, and - for offshore wind - CNP-specific policy on residual impacts and HRA derogations.

Key principle: Once need is established in EN-1, the Secretary of State should act on the basis that the need for infrastructure covered by EN-3 has been demonstrated. The planning balance is front-loaded by need.

Key Policy Anchors by Technology

Offshore Wind

CNP designation: Offshore wind is designated Critical National Priority. The government's target is 50 GW by 2030 (including 5 GW floating wind). Residual non-HRA impacts are unlikely in all but the most exceptional cases to outweigh the urgent need.

Planning balance effect: CNP status shifts the test for Green Belt (very special circumstances), SSSIs, irreplaceable habitats, nationally designated areas (National Parks, AONBs), and heritage assets. The Secretary of State starts from the position that CNP infrastructure meets those tests.

HRA: HRA derogations remain governed by the Habitats Regulations. EN-3 states that energy security and decarbonisation are capable of constituting IROPI, and that alternative sites or lower-capacity alternatives should not be treated as alternative solutions. Compensatory measures remain mandatory.

Consenting: 12-month consenting target set. Offshore Wind Environmental Standards introduced to assist passage through consent. Transition from radial single-farm connections to coordinated multi-farm transmission and multi-purpose interconnectors (MPIs) underway via the Offshore Transmission Network Review.

Solar PV

Need: Five-fold increase to 70 GW by 2035. Solar is the cheapest generation technology. CfD support continues; some large-scale solar is subsidy-free viable.

BMV land: Preference for brownfield and non-agricultural land. Where agricultural land is used, poorer quality land (ALC 3b, 4, 5) is preferred over Best and Most Versatile (ALC 1, 2, 3a). BMV land is not prohibited but its use must be justified and its impacts assessed. This is a preference, not a prohibition.

Land use: Co-location with agriculture, storage, and other uses is encouraged to maximise land-use efficiency.

Scale: A typical 50 MW solar farm covers 125-200 acres. Visual impact and glint and glare are the principal planning issues.

Biomass and Energy from Waste

Sustainability: The Secretary of State must not grant consent unless satisfied the operator will ensure fuel meets applicable sustainability criteria (RO, CfD, or successors), whether or not support is being claimed. Minimum GHG savings, restrictions on primary forest and peatland sources, sustainable forest management for woody biomass.

EfW over-capacity: Proposed EfW plants must not result in over-capacity of residual waste treatment at a national or local level. Must comply with the waste hierarchy.

BECCS: Biomass combined with CCS (BECCS) is a priority application. CCR applies to biomass plant at or over 300 MW generating capacity. Government is transitioning to a broader Decarbonisation Readiness regime.

CHP: Must be included or evidence provided that CHP opportunities have been fully explored.

Pumped Hydro Storage

Storage is CNP infrastructure. PHS is essential for grid balancing as variable renewable penetration increases. Sites are typically in mountainous or hilly locations, with significant visual, water quality, and biodiversity impacts. The 50 MW threshold is the same as biomass and solar. PHS is not a net generator of electricity.

Tidal Stream

Early-stage commercial technology (10 MW UK installed capacity in 2022). EN-3 acknowledges an evidence gap and expects the evidence base to improve as intermediate-scale projects accumulate monitoring data. Applicants must draw on best available evidence. The 100 MW NSIP threshold may be reachable by the late 2020s.

The 2024 Onshore Wind Position

The 2024 EN-3 does not include onshore wind. Onshore wind was removed from the NSIP regime in 2015 and is determined through the TCPA/local planning authority route. The 2024 EN-3 does not reverse this. Onshore wind policy in England is set via the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was updated in 2023 to make it easier to build new onshore wind by removing the requirement that proposals appear on local authority 'identified sites' lists.

However, the NSIP regime does not apply to onshore wind regardless of scale in England. A 500 MW onshore wind proposal in England is still a TCPA application, not a DCO application. EN-3 does not govern it.

Offshore Wind Consenting Challenges

The principal barriers to offshore wind consenting under EN-3 are:

1. HRA cumulative effects: Multiple projects sharing sea areas affect the same protected sites (Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites). Cumulative in-combination assessment is required at both plan level (Crown Estate leasing HRA) and project level. Compensatory measures are mandatory where derogation is used.

2. Marine mammal underwater noise: Piling noise can cause permanent and temporary threshold shift in harbour porpoise, seals, and dolphins. JNCC thresholds apply. Soft-start procedures and seasonal restrictions are common mitigation measures.

3. Ornithology: Collision risk and displacement for seabirds (particularly gannet, kittiwake, guillemot) are major consenting issues. Cumulative displacement effects across multiple wind farms are difficult to model with precision.

4. Navigation and shipping: Statutory bar on consenting projects that cause intolerable interference with recognised sea lanes essential to international navigation (UNCLOS Article 60(7)).

5. Consenting speed: The 12-month target has not been consistently met. The 2025 EN-3 revision was partly aimed at further streamlining.

Solar BMV Land Issue

The BMV preference in EN-3 creates tension with the scale of solar deployment needed to reach 70 GW. The best solar resource (south-facing, well-drained, low-lying land) overlaps substantially with better-grade agricultural land in southern England. EN-3 says avoid BMV "where possible" but does not set a maximum. In practice, at NSIP scale (over 50 MW), applications frequently include some BMV land and must demonstrate it is necessary and has been minimised. ALC survey work (field survey, not just desk-based assessment) is expected. The Soil Resources Management Plan requirement is an acknowledgement that solar is reversible (panels removed at decommission) and soil condition should be preserved.

Interaction with 2025 EN-1

The 2025 EN-1 (designated 6 January 2026) updated the overarching framework. Where EN-3 cross-references specific EN-1 sections (particularly Parts 3-5), applicants under the 2024 EN-3 should check whether the referenced section still exists in the same form in the 2025 EN-1. For applications accepted before 6 January 2026, the 2024 EN-3 and 2024 EN-1 apply together. For applications accepted after that date, the 2025 versions of both NPSs apply.