The ESA has today branded a ministerial direction to pause energy-from-waste permit determinations an “unnecessary and unwelcome piece of political theatre” – warning of consequences to market and investor confidence.
Defra minister, Mark Spencer, issued a ministerial direction to the Environment Agency preventing the Agency from determining Environmental Permit applications for energy recovery operations between 5th April 2024 and 24th May 2024. This pause is pending the outcome of an energy recovery capacity study being undertaken by Defra officials.
In response to this action, Executive Director of the ESA, Jacob Hayler, said: “The instruction by Defra to pause the determination of environmental permits for vital, high-performing, infrastructure is both out-of-the-blue and raises procedural questions that are likely to impact business confidence in the UK.
Energy-from-waste facilities provide a vital public service and continue, after decades of use, to offer the safest and lowest-carbon viable treatment solution for the nation’s rubbish left over after recycling, at a time when England still sends millions of tonnes of residual waste to landfill and a further 1.5 million tonnes abroad each year.
We understand that an EfW capacity study has been undertaken by Defra for some time now, so this unilateral measure to pause permit applications appears to be an unnecessary and unwelcome piece of political theatre. In practice, a two-month pause is unlikely to have a significant impact on projects in the context of, what is typically, a lengthy permit determination process – but our industry and investors will undoubtedly be keen to understand the motivations as well as the scope and outcomes of the Defra study that has prompted this pause.”
