Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to encourage developers to purchase off-shore wind contracts.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK is home to the four largest operational offshore wind farms thanks to its successful Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. Following the publication of the last CfD allocation round outcome on 8 September, the Government held a roundtable with the offshore wind sector on 12 September to discuss the results. Officials are analysing the results as they build the evidence base for the next round, which will open in March 2024. The timeline for the round has been published on the CfD microsite. Core parameters will be published in mid-November. These will be informed by updated evidence and benchmarked against industry intelligence. The Government will publish its methodology note at the same time.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to speed up the approval process for modular nuclear reactors.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government invested up to £12m with the UK’s nuclear regulators between 2017 and 2022 under the Nuclear Innovation Programme, to build regulatory capability for small and advanced modular reactors (SMR and AMR).
With this funding, the regulators modernised the Generic Design Assessment process introducing efficiencies while maintaining rigour and updated their Technical Assessment Guidance and Assessment Principles for regulating SMRs and AMRs.
As outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government will work with the regulators to understand the potential for additional streamlining or removing of duplication from the regulation of new nuclear power stations.