Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delay in Great British Nuclear's selection of small modular reactor designs for public support and its awarding of contracts for development.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At Spring Budget, we announced the launch of the next phase of the Great British Nuclear (GBN) Small Modular Reactor selection process, allowing vendors to bid for potentially multi-billion-pound technology development contracts. It is important that this process is robust. Companies will have until June to submit their tender responses, at which point GBN will assess these and negotiate final contracts, with the goal of announcing successful bidders later in 2024. The aim is for the competition to be the fastest of its kind in the world.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the reason for the further delay in Great British Nuclear making a decision on selecting small modular reactor designs, which was to have been by the spring to allow for development contracts to be agreed by the summer, and what is now the proposed schedule.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is no delay. At Spring Budget, we announced the launch of the next phase of the Great British Nuclear (GBN) Small Modular Reactor selection process, allowing vendors to bid for potentially multi-billion-pound technology development contracts. It is important that this process is robust. Companies will have until June to submit their tender responses, at which point GBN will assess these and negotiate final contracts, with the goal of announcing successful bidders later in 2024. The aim is for the competition to be the fastest of its kind in the world.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to maximise the use of UK-manufactured components in small modular reactors in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Small Modular Reactor technology selection process, launched last year by Great British Nuclear, is an open and competitive process. The priority is to select those technologies best able to facilitate operational projects by the mid-2030s. As with any Government decision, this will be subject to value for money, relevant approvals, and technology readiness. This is an exciting time for nuclear and the scale of our ambition means there are likely to be significant supply chain opportunities associated with projects going forward.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeline for the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) competition, and when they expect the first SMR to come online in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 2 October 2023 the government and Great British Nuclear announced the outcome of the latest phase of the SMR Technology Selection Process, with six technology vendors down-selected to go forward to the next stage. The next stage of the process will be launched very shortly. The ambition is to announce in 2024 which of the six companies the Government will support.
The aim is for this to be the fastest competition of its kind in the world, to facilitate operational projects in the mid-2030s.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of Grangemouth Refinery on UK energy self-sufficiency.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The owners of Grangemouth refinery, Petroineos, recently announced that they were putting in place the enabling works for a future transition to an import terminal. Petroineos have not taken a decision on when refining operations will cease but they anticipate they will continue until at least May 2025.
The impact of a cessation of refining operations on UK energy self-sufficiency will depend on the supply and demand for fuels at the time. The Government’s Net Zero policies to increase use of electric vehicles and renewable transport fuels, will progressively reduce demand for conventional fuels.
The UK already both imports and exports fuels to balance demand and supply. The Petroineos plans should continue to ensure that customer needs are met.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the process for connecting infrastructure projects to the National Grid, following reports that UK energy companies are taking their investments abroad.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network connections and halve the end-to-end build time for new transmission network infrastructure. The Connections Action Plan, published in November 2023, aims to reduce transmission connection delays from 5 years to no more than 6 months after the date requested by the customer and release over 100 Gigawatts of network capacity. Projects that are able to connect faster are already being offered earlier connection dates, including 10 Gigawatts of battery storage being offered an average of a four year advance in their connection.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the green levy on energy bills will be introduced from 1 July after a six-month interval rather than after a two-year suspension as per their previous stated policy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the 2022 Growth Plan, the Government pledged to provide £150 to cover the costs ofgreen leviesincluded in energy bills for two years through the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG). By the end of June, this Guarantee will have saved a typical household in Great Britain around £1,100 in total, including the £150 we committed to.
From July 2023, the Ofgem price cap will be set at £2,074, below the EPG discount level of £3,000 for a typical household.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to incentivise manufacturers to build solar panels in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Solar Taskforce, launched on 25 May, will identify and take forward the actions needed to develop resilient, sustainable and innovative supply chains, to support the significant increases in deployment of solar panels needed to meet the UK’s net zero and energy security goals.
The Government encourages large scale developers accessing its flagship Contracts for Difference scheme to grow the supply chain through the Supply Chain Plan process. The Government supports supply chain innovation through a range of schemes, such as the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund, and initiatives funded by UK Research and Innovation.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the cost to contractors of retraining for the switch from oil and gas to renewable energy production.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Through the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, the Offshore Wind Industry Council committed to making it easier for workers to move between offshore renewables and the oil and gas sector and is exploring the development of an Energy Skills Passport.
Industry, led by the Energy and Utility Skills Partnership and Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, will explore potential skills passport arrangements for the power and networks sectors under the work of the Green Jobs Delivery group.
The Wind Energy Access Portal sets out clear information on training requirements to access work in the offshore wind industry.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the provision of connections to the electrical grid and the issuing of permits for renewable energy developments.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to release network capacity and improve the connections process, which will reduce connection timescales. The Government will publish a connections action plan in the summer.
The Government has demonstrated commitment to ensuring a better, faster, greener, fairer, and more resilient Nationally Significant Infrastructure planning process by publishing an Action Plan for reform in February 2023. The Government is now implementing these reforms, including publishing five revised energy National Policy Statements in March 2023, which are currently out for consultation until 23rd June.