Spotlight: Grid capacity, councils in planning 'special measures' and Thames Water nationalisation?

ENERGY

✒️ UK-Japan fusion partnership strengthened by UKAEA and QST | Press release from UK Atomic Energy Authority  

📰 UK and Japan agree £18bn investment deal | BBC News

📰 The grid reality gap threatening UK industrial growth | The Energyist  

📰 Offshore wind fund receives £300m of applications | Energy Voice

📰 Electrification is the UK's economic lifeline | Business Green (paywall)

📰 Octopus founder says climate policies must address energy costs | FT (paywall)

📰 Fuse boss attacks planning rules as a ‘self-imposed bottleneck for growth’ | City AM

📰 FCA closes investigation into Drax over biomass sourcing | The Guardian

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INFRASTRUCTURE

✒️ Council seeks Government assurance over major infrastructure unit | East Suffolk Council  

🗣️ Powering the AI Economy | Centre for Net Zero

📰 UK sets out AI infrastructure push at London Tech Week – how does it stack up? | The Guardian

📰 Can planning reform keep pace with the UK's infrastructure ambitions? | BE News

📰 Government must put infrastructure strategy into action to retain investor confidence | New Civil Engineer (paywall)

📰 Burnham will ‘revive HS2′ between Birmingham and Manchester if he becomes PM | New Civil Engineer (paywall)

📰 Thames Water nationalisation moves closer as government objects to rescue deal | Thames Water | The Guardian

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DEVELOPMENT

✒️ AI tool to slash planning decision times as government accelerates push to build 1.5 million homes | Press release from Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP and Matthew Pennycook MP  

📰 National Housing Federation calls on Chancellor to accelerate £39bn social housing fund | Building Magazine

📰 Pennycook places nine councils in planning performance 'special measures' for poor quality decision-making | Planning Resource (paywall)  

📰 NPPF needs new affordable housing definition, MPs tell government | Planning Resource (paywall)  

📰 UK construction output slowed in April | BE News

📰 Why Swindon is emerging as a centre for Britain’s drone industry | The Economist (paywall)

📰 £12M electrical framework to support Liverpool City Region infrastructure | New Civil Engineer

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