Energy companies own and operate significant assets across the country in both urban and rural areas.

Infrastructure including power stations, windfarms, substations and overhead lines are often clearly visible to communities.

The Government has set new targets for renewable energy development, and in an effort to meet these stretching targets, many new projects are currently being planned or built.

Development activities can impact on society. Significant investments create jobs and support economies, but can also result in negative impacts, such as construction traffic, noise, visual impact and potential damage to habitats and ecosystems.

Responsible planning, that considers all the impacts of new energy projects on the environment and society, is fundamentally important, along with extensive, open dialogue with stakeholders to identify and resolve or mitigate any issues.

There is a need to improve coordination in the planning process for renewable generation developments with the associated networks projects to connect them to the grid, as soon as they are ready to start generating.  The Planning Bill, which went before Parliament in February 2008 proposed a new system for nationally significant infrastructure projects to speed up planning decisions on strategic renewable energy and grid reinforcement projects. In addition, a Transmission Access Review, conducted jointly by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and regulator Ofgem is addressing the issue of connecting renewable energy projects to the grid in the medium and long-term. A report is expected to be published in summer 2008.

An emerging area for energy companies is the development of marine energy projects, which will mean fully assessing the impacts of operating in a new environment to build wave and tidal projects and their network connections.

It is important that communities trust us to care for the land and respect the environment, as their cooperation is vital in planning successful projects. Energy companies in turn must work hard to maintain that trust by demonstrating a responsible approach in the planning, development and operation of their assets.

Alan Bryce, Impact Leader