Few people will ever read the Schedule which decides whether a planning application counts as "major" or not. But that Schedule is about to change, and it could shape how quickly Northern Ireland builds the wind, solar and battery storage it needs to meet its net zero by 2050 target.
The Department for Infrastructure is consulting on new thresholds for major development. Under the Department's proposals, the bar for onshore electricity generation, including wind and solar, would rise from 5MW to 10MW, and the higher threshold that brings in Department involvement would rise from 30MW to 75MW. Battery storage would get its own thresholds for the first time: 200MWh for major development and 1GWh for the higher tier. Geothermal drilling and carbon capture would be added explicitly, while every oil and gas proposal would face the highest level of scrutiny, whatever its size.
None of this changes whether a project should be approved. It simply changes the route it takes to get a decision.
What it means for climate action in Northern Ireland
Since August 2025, a major application has needed at least 12 weeks of community consultation before it is even submitted, including a public event and a project website. That makes sense for big schemes. For a few wind turbines or a small solar array, it is a lot of red tape, and those are often the projects owned by farmers and communities. Raising the bar to 10MW should help more renewable energy reach the grid sooner, which is critical if we are to hit our target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030.
Clear rules for energy storage are also important A grid that runs on intermittent renewable energy needs storage, which has never fitted neatly into the current system.
Keeping fossil fuel extraction under the strictest scrutiny sends the right signal too.
"But communities might lose their say"
Projects between 5MW and 10MW would no longer have to consult locally before applying, and in rural areas where wind turbines and solar farms are sometimes contested, which might be perceived as decisions being made over people's heads. There is also a risk of developers designing projects just under the threshold: a 9.9MW scheme, or a cluster of them.
But these are all reasons to implement the change well, with the strictest scrutiny, not to avoid it. Good developers should engage communities whether the law demands it or not, and councils should expect them to.
And there is a bigger prize at stake. Every wind turbine, solar array and battery we connect to the grid means less reliance on volatile oil and gas markets. In a cost of living crisis, making community-scale renewables easier to build is one of the best things we can do for everyone's energy bills.
What it means for councils
More mid-sized renewable schemes will come through as local planning decisions, while new classes for energy storage, geothermal and carbon capture will bring novel technologies their way. Planning teams will need to be adequately skilled and resourced to review these applications. Get these planning decisions wrong, or take too long to review them, and the whole policy could unravel.
Consultation deadline extended to 6th November 2026
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said the proposals aim to “support more efficient processing of different types of development proposals within the planning system.” The consultation was originally due to close at 5pm on Friday 9th October. The updated DfI consultation notice confirms a four-week extension, with responses now due by 5pm on Friday 6th November 2026.
