What the Planning & Infrastructure Bill Reform Could Mean for Energy-from-Waste and Anaerobic Di...
What the Planning & Infrastructure Bill Reform Could Mean for Energy-from-Waste and Anaerobic Digestion Projects
The UK renewable and Energy from Waste sectors are currently at a particularly interesting crossroads, as two major policy shifts - the Planning & Infrastructure Bill (P&I Bill) reform and the impending closure of the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) in 2028 - are actively and rapidly reshaping how projects are developed, approved and funded.
And, with a replacement to GGSS yet to be announced, and the P&I Bill reform creating both opportunities for progress and potential project challenges, together these policy shifts could very well accelerate low-carbon growth across the nation or, if managed poorly, could expose developers and investors to new, potentially unforeseen risks.
Indeed, for all of the proposed changes to benefit the renewable and Waste-To-Energy sectors, there needs to be a balance between speed and sustainability, and process to progress.
A Push For Speed
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill was first introduced to the UK Parliament in March 2025, setting out reforms to streamline major project delivery and accelerate approvals for nationally significant infrastructure, including renewable energy.
However, a series of recent amendments have brought the Bill back into focus; giving the Secretary of State greater powers to intervene in local decisions and fast-track key developments, with wide-ranging implications for how projects are planned and approved across the UK.
Projects affected by the most recent amendments being “critical infrastructure” projects including energy, waste, and industrial construction, and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) where the Secretary of State can intervene or overturn local decisions with the overarching intent of accelerating delivery.
Of course, the potential benefits of this are great. This power could very well lead to faster approvals for vital projects, reduced bureaucracy and a clearer national strategy.
However, faster consenting and approvals doesn’t come without challenges. Local authorities are already stretched, with limited planning capacity to handle the rising volume of complex energy projects.
There’s also uncertainty around how “critical infrastructure” will be defined in practice; potentially leaving some projects in grey areas.
And, while the reforms aim to cut red tape, there’s a real risk that speeding up decisions could come at the cost of environmental oversight and meaningful community engagement.
New Layers of Complexity
Whilst the Planning & Infrastructure Bill’s intention - to simplify and accelerate planning for critical infrastructure - is welcome, it does introduce new layers of complexity around environmental accountability, local authority capacity, and community engagement.At a glance, the key takeaways for companies such as PWCL are:
- The reforms promise faster approvals for large-scale energy and infrastructure schemes, but may shift more power to the Secretary of State, who will be able to overturn local decisions for projects deemed nationally significant.
- New environmental duties, including Environmental Delivery Plans and a Nature Restoration Levy, will require developers to provide stronger evidence of sustainability outcomes and biodiversity enhancement.
- The changes coincide with the end of the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) in 2028, which is already driving accelerated activity in the anaerobic digestion (AD) and biomethane sectors, raising concerns about planning congestion and supply-chain strain.
Green Gas Support Scheme: A Race Against Time
As explored in our previous article, the UK’s Green Gas Support Scheme was introduced in 2021 to aid the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and Biomethane sectors, providing 15 years of tariff payments to support biomethane injection into the National Grid.
A scheme of significant benefit to the AD sector, GGSS closes in March 2028 and, as yet, no replacement has been announced, leading to a “controlled panic” of developers rushing to commission new AD and biomethane facilities before the cut off.
This deadline-driven boom in UK AD development is fuelling an intense demand for technical and project management services such as and including feasibility studies, planning approvals, EPC contracts and grid connections for commissioning projects which has put unprecedented pressure on supply chains, design teams, and permitting authorities; creating risk of project bottlenecks, inflated costs and rushed execution.
GGSS Urgency and Planning Reform Acceleration
The overlap between the UK’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill reforms and the approaching 2028 closure of the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) has created a volatile environment for developers, one filled with both opportunity and risk.
On one hand, streamlined planning consents and faster approval routes could help developers push projects through the system before the GGSS deadline.
For many biomethane, EfW and alternative fuel developers, these changes could finally unlock projects that have long been stalled in the local planning process.
Centralised decision-making and simplified consent mechanisms promise to remove bottlenecks, allowing shovel-ready developments to move at pace and increasing investor confidence in the UK’s renewable energy pipeline.
On the other, there’s a growing concern that planning teams and supply chains simply won’t be able to keep up. Compressed timelines can drive progress, but they also heighten technical and financial risk if feasibility, procurement or construction processes are rushed.
The ‘Local’ Issue
Added to this, the new Bill gives the Secretary of State the power to overturn local planning decisions for nationally significant projects. While this could accelerate much-needed renewable infrastructure, it also risks alienating local communities and undermining trust in the democratic process.
In sectors such as energy-from-waste and biomethane, where local engagement and environmental considerations are vital, this tension could prove challenging.
If local voices feel overruled, the result could be resistance, delays, and even policy reversals, particularly as public sentiment continues to play a powerful role in shaping national energy agendas.
The challenge for developers, government, and advisors alike is finding balance: advancing national energy ambitions while maintaining accountability, transparency, and public confidence.
Implications For The Waste Management and Renewable Sectors
For Energy from Waste (EfW) and AD developers, overlapping pressures from the P&I Bill and the looming closure of GGSS will be felt acutely as planning teams must navigate evolving approval frameworks whilst simultaneous;y competing for limited design and construction resources that are already feeling the pinch from increasing materials costs.
This, alongside the widely known issue of the National Grid’s capacity and desperate need for upgrade in order to handle projects already in the pipeline, plus permitting delays may further complicate timelines.
Certainly, projects launched under “rushed” conditions risk non-compliance or operational inefficiencies later down the line. However, well-prepared developers and planning/compliance teams who start early and invest in feasibility and stakeholder engagement could secure an advantage.
For the waste management sector specifically, there’s also an increased emphasis on carbon capture readiness and compliance with emissions trading (UK-ETS), which are shaping project viability assessments.
Process Still Matters
The UK’s renewable energy and waste management sectors are clearly in a defining moment. Planning reform and financial cut-offs are pushing the industry toward unprecedented acceleration, but progress must not come at the expense of process.
As the Planning & Infrastructure Bill and the closure of the GGSS continue to reshape the project landscape, success will rely on developers, investors, and authorities working collaboratively and transparently.
Balancing national ambition with local accountability, speed with scrutiny, and innovation with compliance will determine whether this surge in activity leads to sustainable growth, or future setbacks.
For companies like PWCL, the path forward is clear: our role is to bring structure, clarity, and rigour to complex projects, bridging technical, commercial, and planning disciplines to ensure that rapid progress remains grounded in precision and integrity. Because in the end, lasting success isn’t just about building faster, but building better.
