Iceland proposes 18-month deadline for power permits

A draft bill would require Icelandic authorities to issue a single permit for a power project and related approvals within 18 months of receiving a complete application, mbl.is reports. The government approved the bill at a meeting on Tuesday morning.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate, the combined permit would cover a power generation licence, a utilisation permit, an operating licence and authorisation to alter a body of water. The bill would set a clear statutory limit on processing time for power generation licences and related permits for the first time.

The proposed changes build on rules in force since April requiring the Environment and Energy Agency to combine permits governed by different laws into one approval where possible and practical. Projects in the energy utilisation category of the master plan are also to receive priority in the agency’s permit processing.

Authorisation to alter a body of water must already be included in the agency’s decision when a project requires its permission. That arrangement was made law last year.

Environment, Energy and Climate Minister Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson has previously compared the permitting process to a snakes-and-ladders game, saying applications and documents had to be submitted to multiple agencies and problems in one part could force other permit processes to start again. He has called for different types of permits to be combined, with the agency taking the lead.

When presenting a simplification bill to parliament last November, Jóhann said the overall goal of the legislative changes was to cut the time from an initial idea to construction of a power project from around 12 to 15 years to four or five. That target covers a broader process than the handling of a permit application alone.

The new bill would also implement an EU directive to increase the use of renewable energy. It would allow individuals and businesses to produce, use, store and sell their own renewable electricity through energy communities.

Jóhann said his next bills would aim to speed up the development of electricity transmission and distribution networks and strengthen environmental assessment legislation. He said efficiency should not come at the expense of thorough procedures, transparency or public consultation.