Item 4 on the agenda is the Developments of National Significance (Specified Criteria, Fees and Fees for Deemed Applications) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2019. And I call on the Minister for Housing and Local Government to move the motion. Julie James.

Motion NDM6963 Rebecca Evans

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales; in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1. Approves that the draft The Developments of National Significance (Specified Criteria, Fees and Fees for Deemed Applications) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 21 January 2019.

Motion moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to present these regulations to the Assembly for approval. On 1 April, further energy consenting powers under the Wales Act 2017 will be commenced. These regulations are the first in a suite of statutory instruments that set out how we will implement these new powers. The Wales Act raises the upper devolved limit for the consenting of generating stations from 50 MW onshore only to 350 MW on and offshore. It also devolves the consenting for associated overhead electric lines up to and including 132 kV to the Welsh Ministers. These regulations expand the scope of the developments of national significance, or DNS, process to capture these newly devolved powers. The DNS process already captures onshore generating stations of between 10 MW and 50 MW. Were these regulations not in place, planning applications for these newly devolved, nationally significant projects would be made to local planning authorities for determination, rather than Welsh Ministers. This would result in a situation where smaller planning applications for generating stations of between 10 MW and 50 MW would be consented by the Welsh Ministers, and larger, more significant generating stations consented at the local level. These regulations prevent this situation from arising.

Furthermore, without intervention, overhead electrical lines may require consent from two or more local planning authorities. Each link to the grid, regardless of scale, is important national infrastructure, hence it is my intention for these decisions to be made by the Welsh Ministers, to simplify decision making for developers and communities. In a related reform, these regulations also remove the majority of energy-storage technologies from the DNS process, for decision at the local level. It is a key aim to decarbonise the energy industry in Wales and to develop low-carbon technologies, which are often small in scale and have minimal environmental impacts. No storage projects have yet been consented through the DNS process; evidence suggests that the cost and timetable for decisions is seen as prohibitive to making an application. This change removes those barriers, while promoting our Government's decarbonisation agenda.

And, finally, the regulations also make a number of consequential amendments relating to fees for these new applications and deemed applications. Subject to the approval of these regulations, I also plan to lay further statutory instruments that make consequential changes to the DNS process to accommodate these new powers. The changes in these regulations were widely supported in the consultation published by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs last year.

Thank you. There are no speakers to the debate. So, therefore, unless you've got anything else you want to add, we'll move to the vote. So, the proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Therefore, we will defer voting under this item until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.