Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

The Government does not hold or publish data on the specific sources of polycrystalline silicon imported into the UK from China for use in solar panel manufacturing.

Embracing the opportunities that AI offers to drive economic growth and productivity is a core government objective. As per the government funded AI for Decarbonisation Virtual Centre of excellence’s annual report, AI can support delivery of Clean Power by 2030 by enabling low carbon electricity generation, improving grid access, and enhancing the efficient operation of the energy system. As part of the government’s wider AI-and-decarbonisation programme, we are launching a review led by the AI Champion for Clean Energy. This will provide an expert assessment of the opportunities, risks, and enablers for AI technologies, aligning government, regulators, and industry.

A National Audit Office (NAO) report published on 20^th March 1998 on the sale of AEA Technology sets out that then Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sold AEA Technology (formerly part of the UK Atomic Energy Authority) in 1996 for £224 million. In addition, DTI received a dividend of £3.75 million giving total gross proceeds of £227.75 million.

The Government has not undertaken route level ferry fare modelling for the UK ETS domestic maritime expansion. This is because, as we set out in the Impact Assessment, operators’ commercial decisions, vessel utilisation and fare structures vary widely. The qualitative assessment indicates that any passthrough to consumers is likely to be modest.

The Government will review the maritime element of the UK ETS in 2028 with further consideration of regional or distributional impacts.

We will look to use our new Warm Homes Fund to help local authorities accelerate their existing consumer offers for low carbon technologies. In addition, Crown Commercial Services and Great British Energy are testing approaches to aggregating demand for these technologies to drive down unit costs for both social housing landlords and the public sector estate.

The Government will also provide support to local government, enabling successful delivery at the local level, including through the new Warm Homes Agency which will play a pivotal role in supporting local partnerships, convening, facilitating and supporting where necessary to build capacity within local government. Government is also funding five Local Net Zero Hubs which support local authorities to develop decarbonisation projects and attract commercial interest.

The Warm Homes Agency will play a critical role in place-based delivery and work closely with local partners, including combined authorities. The Agency will seek to build on their good practice in local delivery, convening and supporting where necessary to build capacity to enable delivery to be led at a local level. The full scope of the Agency, including how it will work with combined authorities, is being finalised and will be confirmed in due course.

The cost estimates used in the Clean Energy Campaign are based on the total energy for a home with a gas boiler including both gas and electricity costs (e.g. for lighting and appliances). Details for the assumptions behind the analysis are provided in the section marked “*How we calculated heat pump savings” on the campaign web page https://cleanenergy.campaign.gov.uk/heat-pump/. The analysis in the campaign assumed an annual gas demand of 12,200kWh, which is well aligned to OFGEM’s ‘Medium’ typical domestic consumption value of 11,500kWh.

The Scottish consenting reforms taken forward by the Planning and Infrastructure Act will make the electricity infrastructure consenting system more efficient, more predictable, and look to reduce overall consenting timescales. The Government also aims to adopt reforms to environmental legislation for offshore wind in Spring 2026. Collectively these measures will enable the rapid deployment of clean power which is vital for our energy security. Ultimately planning decisions in Scotland are the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

In the Hamburg Declaration, the North Sea countries have committed to deepen collaboration on enhanced availability of skilled workers, knowledge and expertise transfer, and upskilling.

Although skills is devolved to the Scottish Government, the UK Government is investing in programmes to support those workers transitioning from oil and gas into renewables.

As set out in the Clean Energy Jobs Plan, up to £20m in joint UK and Scottish Government funding is being provided to the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund, supporting North Sea workers to retrain into renewable roles. This builds on the successful pilot launched in July 2025 in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

The Government is also supporting the expansion of the industry-led Energy Skills Passport and introducing a North Sea Jobs Service.

The full scope of the Warm Homes Agency, including any role in funding allocation, is being finalised and will be confirmed in due course.

Government is designing the Hydrogen Transport and Storage Business Models to establish the UK’s first regional hydrogen network to be in operation from 2031. To enable delivery, government has confirmed over £500m of support for hydrogen infrastructure following the June 2025 Spending Review The location of this network will be carefully chosen to maximise the benefits to UK industrial sectors and create a pathway for hydrogen as a clean power source.

We recognise that offshore technologies have the potential to provide large-scale hydrogen storage and will continue to assess how different storage technologies may meet our strategic objectives.

The Warm Homes Agency will seek to operate and optimise delivery at a local level, across the whole of the UK, subject to agreement with Devolved Governments. The Agency will work closely with local partners, supporting and bolstering excellent work already being delivered by many strategic and local authorities. The specifics of the scope of the Agency, including where it will operate and how it will be organised, are being finalised.

The inclusion of the maritime sector in the UK ETS will, in combination with other enabling policies, strengthen the effectiveness of the scheme in incentivising investment in decarbonisation across the covered sectors.

Specifically, the scheme provides a clear price signal that supports investment in cleaner vessels, operational efficiency and emerging low carbon fuels.

The policy is expected to deliver a net reduction of approximately 645,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the next 20 years.

The Department does not currently offer payroll deductions for Credit Unions, and there are no immediate plans to introduce this facility.

Currently, listed buildings are generally able to register exemptions from energy efficiency requirements where compliance would unacceptably alter the character or appearance of the existing building. The aim should be to improve energy efficiency as far as reasonably practicable without prejudicing the character of the host building or risking the long-term deterioration of the fabric or fittings. Government recognises there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to tackling the UK’s diverse building stock, and we will continue to engage with various stakeholders including those from the historic and listed buildings sector.

The Hamburg Declaration sets a collective ambition of 100 GW of offshore wind cooperation projects by 2050. This builds on the UK’s own ambitious Clean Power target where we aim to deploy 43-50GW of offshore wind by 2030 and accelerate to net zero.

Further delivery targets will flow from strategic planning work such as NESO's Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, due to be consulted on in Q1 2027.

The Secretary of State signed a clean energy security agreement, the Hamburg Declaration, with European energy ministers at the North Sea Summit to progress build out of renewable energy in the North Sea and incentivise further investment. This includes an Action Plan, published on Gov.uk, which sets out concrete steps and timelines over the next months and years for both governments and industry to take in order to achieve the objectives agreed.

Working with our European neighbours and industry to develop joint offshore wind will enable us to maximise the clean energy potential for the North Sea, drive investment and job creation, and ensure energy security and resilience.

We work closely with Ofgem to seek continuous improvement to scrutiny processes.

Under Drax’s Low-Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference from 2027, day-to-day scrutiny of biomass sustainability will be provided by the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC). LCCC will implement significantly bolstered assurance standards, including audits across Drax’s global supply chain, an increased audit sample size, and a raised assurance standard from ‘limited’ to ‘reasonable’. There are also significant financial penalties available should Drax’s compliance fall short.

Ofgem will continue to regulate compliance with Drax’s licence conditions, with the powers to launch investigations and issue fines for breaches.

The Department works closely with the energy industry, NESO, regulators and National Technical Authorities to strengthen the physical and cyber resilience of offshore renewable energy infrastructure.

Recognising the risks to subsea and offshore assets, including vulnerabilities from accidental, negligent or intentional disruption, the Department is focused on proportionate measures to reduce opportunities for interference; with physical protection a key area of emphasis, reinforced by strengthened monitoring, detection and restoration arrangements.

Government has set robust regulatory standards for cyber security through the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018, with the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill set to enhance and modernise these protections. This includes working with regulators to ensure these regulations cover critical operators as the sector evolves towards Net Zero targets.

This Government is hugely ambitious about the role that local and community energy will play in achieving our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

On 10 February 2026, Great British Energy and the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero published the Local Power Plan which sets out the UK’s largest ever public investment in community energy.

Backed by up to £1 billion, GBE aims to support more than 1,000 local and community energy projects by 2030.

DESNZ will issue a Call for Evidence in 2026 to assess the role of community batteries in the transition and identify measures to scale deployment.

In February 2025, DESNZ concluded a consultation on a “transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass generators”. This included a comprehensive assessment of sustainability criteria for biomass used in the UK, as well as broader environmental and ethical considerations:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a9f462699d77bee014847c/transitional-support-mechanism-large-scale-biomass-generators-consultation-government-response.pdf

Following this consultation, the new Low-Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference (LCD CfD) with Drax, finalised in November 2025, has increased the proportion of biomass that must come from sustainable sources to 100%, tightened the supply chain emissions threshold to 36.6 mgCO2eq/MJ, and excluded material sourced from activities within primary forests and old growth forest areas from receiving subsidy support.

The Hamburg Declaration sets a collective ambition of 100 GW of offshore wind cooperation projects by 2050. Future GB co-ordinated projects will be guided by domestic strategic energy planning conducted by our National Energy System Operator (NESO), which is due to be consulted on in Q1 2027.

The Government and Ofgem are developing a future approach to interconnection including offshore hybrid assets, and expect to publish further details in the spring. This will include consideration of delivery and finance models.

Great British Energy has funded rooftop solar for 250 schools and around 260 NHS sites. This is cutting bills for schools and hospitals, releasing money for frontline services.

For GPs that aren’t part of these NHS sites, they can access the Boiler Upgrade Scheme accessing £7,500 towards a heat pump and £5,000 towards a biomass boiler.

As set out in the Local Power Plan (Local Power Plan | Great British Energy) published on 10 February 2026 GBE will be announcing their new support schemes in Spring 2026. You can sign up on their website to find out more.

The Secretary of State signed a clean energy security agreement, the Hamburg Declaration, with European energy ministers at the North Sea Summit to progress build out of renewable energy in the North Sea and incentivise further investment.

Scotland is at the very heart of our Clean Energy Superpower mission. And in preparation for the North Sea Summit, the Department has engaged with UK industry, including Scottish companies, who have also attended the Summit. Officials regularly engage with and involve the Scottish Government in all relevant work related to the Hamburg Declaration and associated documents.

Local planning authorities and the Environment Agency are responsible for assessing the impact of onshore oil and gas developments on housing and drinking water respectively.

The North Sea Transition Authority regulates exploration and development licensing for England’s onshore oil and gas resources on behalf of the Secretary of State. Licence holders require further consents and permits before any operations take place.

Government is committed to supporting the rapid development and adoption of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology as it has the potential to reduce the cost of electric vehicle (EV) ownership whilst supporting the rapid decarbonisation of our energy system and lowering energy bills for all.

The 2025 Clean Flexibility Roadmap highlights actions that government, Ofgem and NESO are taking to support the roll out of V2G beyond innovation investments to date. This includes steps to make it more financially rewarding for EV drivers to utilise V2G through introducing legislation when parliamentary time allows to remove levies from being charged on electricity exported back to the grid. We are also considering incentivising vehicles with V2G capability, such as using innovative credit models within the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.

The Government is committed to supporting the decarbonisation of the GP estate. Through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, GP facilities can receive £7,500 for heat pumps and £5,000 for biomass boilers. We also help fund the UK Business Climate Hub, an online resource supporting SMEs identify and implement changes to their energy use.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme will only include emissions from domestic voyages and emissions within UK ports.

Emissions from voyages within the European Economic Area (EEA) and emissions within EEA ports are already in scope of the EU Emissions Trading System, which also applies to 50% of international voyage emissions.

The Government therefore expects no net loss of competitiveness for cruise visits to UK ports relative to EEA ports as a result of the inclusion in the UK ETS of the domestic maritime sector.

On this basis, the Government considers the impact on the cruise sector to be minimal.

Receipts from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme support the Government’s wider priorities, including spending to support decarbonisation.

The Government recognises that decarbonising the maritime sector requires a suite of policies and is providing funding and policy support to facilitate this transition.

For example, between April 2022 and March 2026, the Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme has allocated £240m to the research and development of clean maritime solutions.

In September 2025, the Government announced a further £448m R&D funding for the programme for the period to 2030. This represents the biggest government investment ever in our commercial maritime industry.

Working with the finance industry, government will allocate up to £1.7 billion of the up to £5 billion allocation to our new Warm Homes Fund to new low and zero interest consumer loans, to help more households meet the upfront costs of improving their homes. This funding would be made available to lenders who apply to participate in the scheme and will be combined with up to £300 million of other government funding to lower the cost of loans for consumers.

We will launch a Call for Evidence in early 2026 to identify where else in the market the Fund can deliver the greatest impact, for example in supporting private and social landlords, investors or supply chains, alongside homeowners.

The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan sets out the government's proposals and policies to enable carbon budgets to be met. In doing so, it provides an assessment of the impact of the government’s expectation that the vast majority of heating system replacements will be low-carbon by 2035.

We are making significant progress towards this objective. Demand for heat pumps and other clean technologies is soaring, while our Warm Homes Plan sets out ?15 billion of investment and a range of interventions to ensure that clean heating technologies are the most attractive and natural option for consumers.

The Government provided statutory powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to monitor the road fuel market and assess whether competition is working effectively for consumers, including those in rural communities.

The CMA’s recent annual report found that fuel margins remain high and are not explained by operating costs. In line with the CMA’s recommendations, the Government has implemented the statutory Fuel Finder scheme, which requires all petrol stations in the UK to report their fuel prices within 30 minutes of a change, and is intended to improve price transparency, increase competition and lower prices across the UK including for rural consumers.

The skills investment fund will allow for a collaborative approach to skills development in offshore wind, enabling interventions that target industry-level challenges. The Government will work with the offshore wind industry and Devolved Governments in 2026 to implement the fund in 2027.

The Department is delivering a suite of measures to deliver a fair and prosperous transition for the oil and gas workforce. This includes up to £20 million from the UK and Scottish Governments to the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund, which funds retraining to support their transition, as well as a new North Sea Jobs Service to provide end-to-end transition support.

Signing the fair work charter will be a condition of Clean Industry Bonus eligibility at the point of application. Enforcement during the delivery phase will be set out in the Charter’s governance chapter, which will be published later this month. It will set out the dispute resolution process agreed by industry and trade union representatives.

The Government’s Impact Assessment estimates that including domestic maritime in the UK ETS will increase allowance purchase revenue by around £1.9 billion over the 20-year appraisal period, averaging roughly £95 million a year.

Revenue from the UK ETS is not currently hypothecated, but is used to fund the government’s spending priorities, including spending and subsidies supporting the Net Zero transition.

The Government continues to support the maritime sector’s decarbonisation through existing funding, guidance and policies that support the uptake of cleaner technologies.

The Government notes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) annual road fuel monitoring report, which found that competition hasn’t strengthened since the CMA’s Market Study published in July 2023, and that fuel margins remain consistently high and are not explained by operating costs.

The Government has implemented the recommendations made by the CMA, including the launch of Fuel Finder, which now requires all petrol stations in the UK to report their prices within 30 minutes of a change. This scheme aims to increase price transparency and help drivers to compare prices easily and make more informed decisions on where to buy their fuel.

The Clean Industry Bonus will ensure public funding supports high quality jobs in offshore wind by requiring firms to sign a Fair Work Charter. The Fair Work Charter commits signatories to early implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, supporting access to trade unions across the sector. Additionally, it will commit signatories to strive for best practice health and safety at work.

The associated Impact Assessment highlights that the overall impact of changes to the Clean Industry Bonus are expected to be positive.

The Clean Industry Bonus will ensure public funding supports high quality jobs in offshore wind by requiring firms to sign a Fair Work Charter. The Fair Work Charter commits signatories to early implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, supporting access to trade unions across the sector. Additionally, it will commit signatories to strive for best practice health and safety at work.

The associated Impact Assessment highlights that the overall impact of changes to the Clean Industry Bonus are expected to be positive.

The Clean Industry Bonus will ensure public funding supports high quality jobs in offshore wind by requiring firms to sign a Fair Work Charter. The Fair Work Charter commits signatories to early implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, supporting access to trade unions across the sector. Additionally, it will commit signatories to strive for best practice health and safety at work.

The associated Impact Assessment highlights that the overall impact of changes to the Clean Industry Bonus are expected to be positive.

The Clean Industry Bonus will ensure public funding supports high quality jobs in offshore wind by requiring firms to sign a Fair Work Charter. The Fair Work Charter commits signatories to early implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, supporting access to trade unions across the sector. Additionally, it will commit signatories to strive for best practice health and safety at work.

The associated Impact Assessment highlights that the overall impact of changes to the Clean Industry Bonus are expected to be positive.

Basildon Hospital will receive £246,460 of funding for LED lighting energy efficiency upgrades.

Other sites from the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust to receive funding for LED lighting energy efficiency upgrades are:

• Braintree Community Hospital - £130,680
• Broomfield Hospital - £1,976,876
• Orsett Hospital - £330,532
• Southend Hospital - £620,965
• St Michael's Hospital – £354,777

Colchester Hospital is also receiving £137,940 for solar PV and is part of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

The £9 million is part of the £74 million of funding for clean energy upgrades announced on 5 February 2026. Solar PV and battery installations are being delivered in partnership with Great British Energy.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) provided grant funding to public sector organisations in England, and to bodies with reserved functions operating in the devolved administrations, to install heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures in public sector buildings. The scheme is closed to new applications with no further phases planned.

We encourage public sector bodies operating in the devolved administrations to check the respective devolved government websites for information on the support available to them.