Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) Hitachi and (b) other private sector companies will be financially liable for safety failures at the proposed Wylfa Newydd power station.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
As announced in my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament on 4th June 2018, the Government has decided to enter into negotiations with Hitachi over the Wylfa Newydd new nuclear project.
Safety and security are of paramount importance and the UK has a robust and effective regulatory regime. No final decisions have been taken to proceed with the project.
The successful conclusion of these negotiations will be subject to full Government, regulatory and other approvals—including, but not limited to, value for money, due diligence and state aid requirements. These negotiations are commercially sensitive and no final decision has yet been taken to proceed with the project.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to match the Scottish Government's interim target reducing emissions by 56 per cent by 2020.
Answered by Claire Perry
We have an ambitious UK wide target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, supported by ambitious carbon budget targets which are set until 2032. Our focus is on delivering these targets through implementation of our Clean Growth Strategy. We welcome all ambitious targets set by devolved administrations as they count towards are overall UK targets.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to establish a subsidy-free contracts for difference price stabilisation mechanism in the energy market.
Answered by Claire Perry
No decisions have been made to establish a subsidy-free contracts for difference price stabilisation mechanism in the energy market.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on allocating additional resources to support the oil and gas sector in the increase of production.
Answered by Claire Perry
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer regularly meet to discuss a range of issues, including the oil and gas industry.
In recent years the Government has provided unprecedented levels of financial support to the sector, paid for by UK tax payers, and we have seen an increase in production since 2015. A great improvement in industry productivity.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to match the Scottish Government's target of reducing carbon emissions by 90 per cent by 2050.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April that we will be seeking advice from the UK’s independent advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, on the implications of the Paris Agreement for the UK’s long-term emission reduction targets after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report later this year.
The Clean Growth Strategy made clear that the Government believes the UK will need to legislate for a net zero emissions target at an appropriate point in the future, to provide legal certainty on where the UK is heading.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on allocating funds from the public purse to expand the UK's tidal energy capacity.
Answered by Claire Perry
Tidal stream projects are eligible to bid into the next Contract for Difference allocation round, which is planned for Spring 2019.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which fruitless payments in excess of £30,000 her Department has made by (a) recipient of each such payment, (b) purpose of each such payment, (c) value of each such payment and (d) reason that payment was classified as fruitless in the 2017-18 financial year to date.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Disclosure of any fruitless payments made in 2017-18 will be made in accordance with the requirements set out in Managing Public Money and published in the Department’s 2017/18 Annual Report and Accounts, planned for July 2018. The Department waits until its Annual Accounts to publish this information so that the National Audit Office can verify to the House that any disclosures made meet audit standards.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on energy and energy subsidies of the Chatham House research paper, Woody Biomass for Power and Heat: Impacts on the Global Climate, published in February 2017.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is firmly committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving to a low carbon economy in a cost-effective way for households and businesses. All biomass power plants in the UK are required to meet mandatory sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions criteria.
As the Chatham House report points out, biomass can be sourced in either low or higher carbon manners, depending on the forestry techniques and the types of wood used.
Our analysis[1] shows that sawdust and sawmill residues made up 43% of material used, forestry residues comprising branches, tops and bark made up 28%, thinnings amounted to less that 14% of all biomass feedstocks, with the remaining 15% made up of materials such as waste wood.
The Department keeps under review the level of subsidies available to biomass technologies and monitors the sustainability of biomass used in heat and power generation. We are currently analysing responses to our Call for Evidence for the future of biomass generation under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) from 2018 onwards.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Chatham House research paper, Woody Biomass for Power and Heat: Impacts on the Global Climate, published in February 2017, if he will (a) reassess subsidies to biomass for electricity and (b) review biomass policy to ensure it delivers carbon emissions reduction.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is firmly committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving to a low carbon economy in a cost-effective way for households and businesses. All biomass power plants in the UK are required to meet mandatory sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions criteria.
As the Chatham House report points out, biomass can be sourced in either low or higher carbon manners, depending on the forestry techniques and the types of wood used.
Our analysis[1] shows that sawdust and sawmill residues made up 43% of material used, forestry residues comprising branches, tops and bark made up 28%, thinnings amounted to less that 14% of all biomass feedstocks, with the remaining 15% made up of materials such as waste wood.
The Department keeps under review the level of subsidies available to biomass technologies and monitors the sustainability of biomass used in heat and power generation. We are currently analysing responses to our Call for Evidence for the future of biomass generation under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) from 2018 onwards.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Chatham House research paper, Woody Biomass for Power and Heat: Impacts on the Global Climate, published in February 2017, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent coal power stations continuing to burn coal indefinitely if they co-fire with biomass.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department recently held a consultation on proposals to end unabated coal generation in Great Britain, with the aim to strengthen investment signals as the UK moves towards a cleaner, lower-carbon electricity system. We are currently assessing the many responses received through the consultation process and will be setting out our approach in due course.