Planning, energy and devolution in the UK

This short paper explores a number of issues arising from a recent ESRC project that has explored the role of the UK Devolved Administrations in the policy and deployment of renewable energy. It suggests that recent changes in the political control of central and devolved governments has set in train a new dynamic to understanding the divergences of UK planning systems and that renewable energy offers a good lens through which to examine these developments. In examining devolved planning systems in the context of a post-political consensus, the paper questions whether we are now witnessing a new revanchist approach to securing national and regional resources, which may become more pronounced as we move towards a post-abundant world.