Specified generator: apply for an environmental permit
The types of permit available, how much they cost and how to apply for your environmental permit.
Applies to England and Wales
Specified generator permits are standalone permits. They only cover emissions of SO2, NOx and dust to air. There are no permit conditions for water, land, energy efficiency, odour or noise.
There are 3 types of permits for specified generators, a:
- standard rules permit – low risk
- simple bespoke permit – low risk
- complex bespoke permit – high risk
Find information on what to do if your specified generator is already permitted, for example, if you have:
- an IED installations environmental permit
- a local authority Part B section 1.1 or 5.1 activity permit
Before you apply
Check you have all the information you need, including the deadlines you must meet. Read the guidance ‘Specified generator: when you need a permit’ to check:
- if you need to apply for a specified generator permit
- the deadlines for all specified generators and the date you must have a permit in place
You can apply for a site permit if you are operating:
- an individual specified generator
- 2 or more generators for the same purpose
Read the guidance ‘Aggregating generators and deadlines for a specified generator site’ to find out how to aggregate the generators and the date you must have a permit in place.
For all types of permit you need to apply in time for the regulator to determine your application.
In:
- England, apply to the Environment Agency using these details and application forms
- Wales, apply to Natural Resources Wales – use their details and application forms
Standard rules permits
To apply for a standard rules permit in England, you must be able to meet the rules set out in the permit. If you cannot, you must apply for a bespoke permit.
Natural Resources Wales do not issue standard rules permits anymore – only bespoke permits. If your specified generator is in Wales, use the Natural Resources Wales guidance.
See the standard rules permits available for low risk Tranche B specified generators. You can only use them if your site only has Tranche B specified generators, not a mixture of As and Bs.
Standard rules permits are not suitable for specified generators which are also medium combustion plant (MCP) and are directly associated activities to an IED installation environmental permit.
You must provide the following information when you submit your application.
About you
You must provide the operator’s name and address.
You must declare if you or any relevant member of your organisation has:
- any conviction of a relevant offence
- current or past bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings against you
About your operation
You must select the standard rules permit you are applying for and provide the site or generator’s:
- location – site name, address and postcode
- the nomenclature of economic activities (NACE) code for the activity
You must also provide:
- generator name
- location – national grid reference or latitude and longitude
- net rated thermal input (MWth)
- type of generator – such as engine or turbine
- type and portion of fuels used as set out in the fuel categories in Annex 2 Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD)
- stack height
- expected annual operating hours and average load in use
- whether it’s in an air quality management area (AQMA)
- the distance from places where people live or work (human receptors)
Management system
You must:
- confirm you have a management system
- declare the type of management system you have and that it meets the requirements set out in our guidance Develop a management system: environmental permits
Emission limit value (ELV) compliance verification
As part of your application, you must declare that you will meet all the permit conditions. This includes being able to monitor each individual generator using the monitoring requirements in Monitoring stack emissions: low risk MCPs and specified generators and that you are able to meet the ELVs.
Decarbonisation readiness
As part of your application, you will be asked to declare if you are:
- installing or substantially refurbishing any in-scope generators
- voluntarily applying the decarbonisation readiness requirements to existing plant
If you are, you must tell us how you are meeting the carbon capture readiness or hydrogen conversion readiness conditions under the decarbonisation readiness requirements of EPR Schedule 25C.
Charges for standard rules permits
Find charges for standard rules permits in the Environmental permit and abstraction licensing: tables of charges – see Table 1.10 (combustion and power) for the application charges and Table 2.10 (combustion and power) for subsistence charges.
Apply for a standard rules permit
If you’re not able to apply online, you can complete the spreadsheet application form for a standard rules permit.
Bespoke permits
You must apply for a bespoke permit if you cannot meet the conditions in a standard rules permit.
There are 2 types:
- simple bespoke (low risk) – does not require detailed air dispersion modelling
- complex bespoke (high risk) – does require detailed air dispersion modelling
Read the following guidance to see:
- which type of bespoke permit you must apply for
- what information you must provide in addition to that required for a standard rules permit
Air emissions risk assessment
You can use the Environment Agency specified generator screening tool if you operate one of the following:
- a Tranche A or Tranche B specified generator site, or a mix of Tranche A and B specified generator site where all Tranche A generators comply with the Tranche B requirements
- a single or group of new or existing engines that can achieve the MCPD and, or specified generator emission limit values
- a specified generator or generators that have vertical stacks that are not obstructed by cowls or caps
- a specified generator or generators that are fuelled by natural gas, that is, there are insignificant emissions of sulphur dioxide and particulates or, is fuelled by ultra-low sulphur diesel with secondary abatement, used for balancing (no more than 500 hours), and aggregated to no more than 20 MWth
If you cannot use the Environment Agency specified generator screening tool, you can use the Simple Calculation of Atmospheric Impact Limits (SCAIL) Combustion tool to carry out an air emission risk assessment.
Follow the guidance on how to use SCAIL Combustion and review the results carefully. Specialist knowledge is required, so you should ask an air quality consultant to complete this for you.
When using SCAIL Combustion, you must consider human health receptors in addition to designated habitat sites, which you can add manually to the SCAIL input data.
When assessing habitats and human health, you must use the air emissions risk assessment insignificant process contribution (PC) criteria:
- 10% of a short-term environmental standard
- 1% of a long-term environmental standard
If the PC does not exceed 10% of a short-term environmental standard or 1% of a long-term environmental standard, the results are deemed to ‘screen out’ as low risk. Otherwise they are deemed to ‘screen in’. The results of the screening and assessment will determine which permit you need.
If you ‘screen out’, you will need to:
- apply for a low risk simple bespoke permit
- provide a completed copy of the screening tool you used with your application – this will show you have applied for the correct permit type
- pay the habitats assessment charge
If the emissions do not screen out as ‘low risk’ and you ‘screen in’, you will need to apply for a high risk complex bespoke permit. Complex bespoke permits require a site-specific air quality modelling assessment that assesses risks to human health and habitats. See the guidance on how to do detailed air quality modelling for emissions from specified generators. Detailed modelling requires specialist knowledge. You should find a consultant to do it for you.
If you cannot use the Environment Agency specified generator screening tool or SCAIL Combustion, you can use a different method. The regulator will need to check that your choice of method is robust.
This guidance is applicable if the specified generator is also a MCP.
Secondary abatement to meet the ELV
You may configure several generators to exhaust all of their flue gases through a single combined stack to meet the ELV.
The regulators consider this to be an appropriate technique providing the ELV is met on that stack.
You will need to apply for a complex bespoke permit if you use this technique.
ELV compliance verification
Submit monitoring evidence with your application for a bespoke permit that shows your specified generator can meet the ELV.
You can show you are meeting ELVs by using monitoring stack emissions: low risk MCPs and specified generators for:
- a specified generator that meets the criteria for a simple bespoke permit
- a specified generator using natural gas with a rated thermal input of less than 5 MWth
You can also use this low risk method to do monitoring for diesel back-up specified generators which operate for less than 50 hours per year for testing, even though there is no specified ELV.
For all other applications for a bespoke specified generator permit you must use Environment Agency’s Monitoring Certification Scheme – MCERTS.
Where continuous emission monitoring systems are used on MCPs and specified generators you can use the MCERTS: performance standards for low risk plant monitors.
Energy efficiency report for specified generator 20 MWth or more
If the new MCPs which are also a specified generator have a total thermal rated input of 20 MWth or more and produces waste heat at a useful temperature, you must meet Schedule 24 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). This implements the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Directive. You must prepare and submit a report with your application on how your generator meets the requirements.
This requirement does not apply to:
- spark ignition engines
- existing Tranche A and Tranche B generators
Generators located in or deploying to a local authority AQMA
You must provide details of the specific AQMA.
The regulator will consult with the local authority which has responsibility for the AQMA to verify the ambient background NO2 concentration you provided.
Decarbonisation readiness
As part of your application, you will be asked to declare if you are:
- installing or substantially refurbishing any in-scope generators
- voluntarily applying the decarbonisation readiness requirements to existing plant
If you are, you must tell us how you are meeting the carbon capture readiness or hydrogen conversion readiness conditions under the decarbonisation readiness requirements of EPR Schedule 25C.
Charges for bespoke permits
Find charges for MCP bespoke permits in table 1.10 of the environmental permits and abstraction licences: tables of charges.
If the Environment Agency needs to assess the impact of emissions to air on a protected habitats site they will charge you a supplementary charge. Their charge is in table 1.19.2 of the tables of charges.
Apply for a bespoke permit
If you’re not able to apply online, you can apply for a bespoke permit using the application forms part A, part F1 and part B2.5.
Find the details on how to apply in Wales.
For advice before you apply
See guidance on how to get advice before you apply for an environmental permit in England.
In Wales, contact Natural Resources Wales for help.
After you apply
The regulator may reject your application if, for example you have:
- not used the right forms
- forgotten to include the fee or sent the wrong fee
- not provided important information
Examples of insufficient information include:
- an air quality assessment not identifying potential pollutants
- emission parameters not being provided
The information required is explained in the application form guidance and depends on the type of application you are making.
Once the regulator has the information they need to start assessing your application, they will contact you and tell you that your application is ‘duly made’. This means they are starting the assessment process.
The regulators may request more information if they need it to complete their assessment.
If the Environment Agency needs any more information from you before your application can be duly made, they will either:
- contact you to request it if it seems you could provide the information within 10 working days
- return your application with a list of missing information to help you reapply
If the Environment Agency cannot progress your application past the duly made stage, they will return it to you. They may keep part of your application charge if they have spent time reviewing your application. This is explained in the environmental permitting charges guidance.
After an application is duly made, if the Environment Agency needs any more information from you, they will contact you to tell you what information you need to send.
After you get your permit
If the regulator issues a specified generator permit to a mobile specified generator they will notify the local authority to which it deploys.
Once the regulators have issued your permit they will add your details to the:
- Environment Agency public register in England
- Natural Resources Wales public register in Wales
See guidance on how to comply with your permit and how you will be regulated.
Updates to this page
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Clarified in introduction of 'Standard rules permits' that standard rules permits are not suitable for specified generators which are also medium combustion plant and are directly associated activities to an IED installation environmental permit. Clarified information needed in sub sections 'About you', 'About your operation', 'Management system' and 'Emission limit value (ELV) compliance verification'. Added sub section 'Decarbonisation readiness'. In section 'Bespoke permits' added sub section 'Decarbonisation readiness'.
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Added links to a new service for applying for a environmental permit online in England.
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Updated the guidance to allow the use of the Simple Calculation of Atmospheric Impact Limits (SCAIL) Combustion tool to screen specified generators.
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Added that the Environment Agency is testing a new online service for medium combustion plant and specified generator permit applications in England. Added a link so you can sign up to use the new service and give feedback.
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Added that Natural Resources Wales do not issue standard rules permits anymore – only bespoke permits. If your specified generator is in Wales, use the Natural Resources Wales guidance. Updated the 'After you apply' section to clarify what happens if the regulators need more information before an application can be 'duly made'.
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'Charges for standard rules permits': added about charges where the plant is also a new MCP. 'Air emissions risk assessment': added the specified generator tool can also be used for tranche A specified generators. 'ELV compliance verification': added more guidance on which monitoring methods should be used for different types of permits for specified generators.
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Updated reference to ‘Monitoring stack emissions’ and contact email address for issues with the standard rules permit form. Clarified types of bespoke permit available and the air emissions risk assessment required. Added text to the section ‘energy efficiency report of SG 20MWth or more’ – ‘and produces waste heat at a useful temperature’.
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Removed the link to the online application services as people must use the application forms to apply for a bespoke specified generator permit.
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Updated the 'After you apply' section to give examples of insufficient information being provided. Updated how to get advice before applying for a standard rules permit in England.
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We have removed NRW's regulatory decision on the permitting date for Tranche B specified generators - it has expired.
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The Environment Agency's Regulatory Position Statement: Permits for schedule 25B, Tranche B specified generators: RPS 219 for sites in England expired on 31 August 2019.
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The Natural Resource Wales Regulatory Decision has been extended to 31 October 2019.
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In England you can now apply for a bespoke permit online.
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First published.