Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in their discussions with Honda over the closure of their plant in Swindon, they have raised the possibility of the future use of the site and plant for the large-scale production of electric vehicles; and whether they would consider giving financial support to such a venture.
Answered by Lord Henley
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy met with the Honda Executives in London on 18 February, just ahead of Honda’s initial announcement to close its Swindon plant on 19 February. The Secretary of State has chaired a taskforce consisting of local leaders, MPs and trade unions, to provide support to the workforce and businesses who would be affected by the loss of Honda’s plant in Swindon. Through the taskforce we are determined to work together to ensure that Swindon continues its record of attracting investment from advanced manufacturers, maintaining and creating highly skilled jobs that offer fulfilling careers for many years to come. That will include engaging closely with parties interested in future uses of the site in Swindon owned by Honda.
The Government supports the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector via a number of routes. Government has committed £274m to the Faraday Battery Challenge, and circa £80m in the last Budget to the Stephenson Challenge, newly named ‘Driving the Electric Revolution’. Together Government and industry have committed around £1 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre to support research, development and commercialisation of the next generation of low carbon technologies, keeping the UK at the cutting edge of low carbon automotive innovations. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation provides R&D support across a range of technology themes including low carbon, materials and manufacturing; and connected and autonomous vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of concerns over the future of the Wylfa Newydd and Moorside nuclear power station projects, they will re-examine the viability of the Severn Barrage project.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department undertook a detailed study of the strategic case for a Severn Barrage in 2010 and concluded that there was no strategic case for Government investment in such a project. The Government remains open to considering well developed tidal range projects if they can credibly demonstrate that they represent value for money when compared to other forms of low carbon generation, such as offshore wind.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that energy customers who refuse to have smart meters installed in their premises are not disadvantaged by their energy suppliers.
Answered by Lord Henley
Smart meters will give consumers the data they need to take control of their energy consumption, allowing them to cut their energy bills. Smart meters will also help make the overall energy system more efficient and cheaper to run. While smart meters are voluntary for consumers they will benefit from having one.
Ofgem’s existing regulations will continue to apply, which require energy suppliers to treat all consumers fairly. In addition the Government has acted to protect consumers regardless of meter type, by capping poor value standard variable and default tariffs.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the additional electricity capacity needed to meet their target for diesel and petrol engine vehicles to be phased out by 2040; whether they will publish any such estimates; and what plans they have to ensure any additional electricity demand is met.
Answered by Lord Henley
National Grid published their 2018 Future Energy Scenarios on 12 July (attached) and previously produced a bespoke note on the electricity system impacts of electric vehicles (attached). The level of impact that National Grid presents is readily manageable by the electricity system, and shows the benefits that can be provided through smart charging of electric vehicles. Therefore, the Government has taken powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to mandate that all charge points sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled, and we are planning to consult on secondary regulations in the new year. In addition, the Government has established an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce in order to consider these issues, including the underpinning industry standards and practices that may be required.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Henley on 28 June committing a further £86 million to research on nuclear fusion (HLWS782), what is the total amount of financial support given since 1988 to supporting nuclear fusion; what tangible benefits have been achieved so far; and whether they have evidence that nuclear fusion will produce significant amounts of electrical energy at commercially viable cost in the foreseeable future.
Answered by Lord Henley
In the 30 years since 1988, based on information provided by UKAEA, we estimate that total UK government funding for UK fusion research has totalled around £900m. A further approx. £1.6bn funding from EU sources has been spent on fusion research in the UK over the same time frame.
Since 2007, and as part of the UK’s contribution to the general EU budget, the UK has helped fund the EU’s contribution towards the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion research project, based in France. The EU’s support for ITER totals around £5.4bn to date.
UK fusion research has made the UK a world leader in the field and created emerging spin-out industries in areas such as robotics, material sciences, and reactor design. The UK’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy is a global hub for scientific talent, and the Joint European Torus fusion reactor based at Culham holds the world record for sustaining an energy producing fusion reaction. UK participation in ITER has already enabled UK companies to win around £430m of ITER construction contracts with a further £1bn of contracts being targeted.
Most major nations invest significantly in fusion energy research due to the transformative potential of the technology to provide a virtually limitless clean energy source. ITER is due to complete construction in 2025 and aims to produce net energy from a fusion reaction for the first time, and preparations for a demonstration fusion power plant to follow ITER are already underway. The Government supports UK fusion research to ensure we are positioned to benefit commercially from a technology the UK has pioneered for several decades.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what investment they are making in the research and development of small modular nuclear plants; and how many small modular nuclear plants will be operational when all coal-fired power stations are phased out.
Answered by Lord Henley
In December 2017 Government announced up to £44m, over the next 3 years, for the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Programme. The aim of this programme is to assess the feasibility of innovative reactor projects and to accelerate development of promising designs. Government also announced up to £12m for the UK Regulators to increase their capability and capacity to assess and license new designs.
The Government has committed to phasing out electricity generation using unabated coal by 2025. It is unlikely that any small modular reactor nuclear plants would be operational in the UK by this date. However, several small reactor developers have expressed an interest in entering the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process in the near future. GDA is a process that enables regulators to assess new nuclear reactor designs in advance of an application to build a reactor at a specific site.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the forecast by Barclay's Analysts that the Hinckley Point nuclear power station project will suffer cost overruns of £4.5 billion and a four year delay for completion, and what would be the cost per megawatt hour (MWH) of electricity if those forecasts were realised.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government negotiated a very competitive deal which ensures consumers won’t pay a penny until the station begins generating electricity.
Any construction cost overruns or schedule delays are the responsibility of the developer.
The Strike price of £92.50 per megawatt hour (2012 prices) set in the Hinkley Point C Contract for Difference will not change as a result of any construction cost increases or delays to completion.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government whether, in light of forecasts of sharply increased costs and delays to the Hinckley Point nuclear power station project, they will review their support for it and state the estimated cost for bringing the project to an end.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
There are no plans to review the Hinkley Point C contract, which the Government believes represents value for money and will deliver a number of benefits including 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships. The developer, NNB is responsible for the project’s funding and construction schedule. Any additional costs incurred are the responsibility of NNBG and will not fall on taxpayers or consumers.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what volume of electricity a Swansea tidal lagoon would produce per annum and at what cost per MWh; and what would be its contribution towards security of supply during the morning and evening peak demand periods.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
If built, the tidal lagoon at Swansea Bay is anticipated to generate approximately 0.5 TWh/year. The levelised cost of the project (in MWh) would depend on a number of factors including the capital costs, operating costs, operating profile, load factor and financing rates. For reasons of commercial sensitivity I cannot comment on the specifics of the developer’s latest proposal. Its contribution to security of supply would be subject to a number of factors including the state of the tides.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement will be subject to ratification by both Houses of Parliament and the US Congress.
Answered by Lord Price
We expect the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be a “mixed” agreement, covering areas of both EU and Member State competence, to which the US, EU and all EU Member States will be parties.
In that case, it will be subject to agreement by each EU Member State, the EU Council and the European Parliament. As part of this process in the UK, before the Government can ratify the agreement, the complete draft text of the agreement will initially be laid before Parliament for scrutiny for at least 21 sitting days. During this time MPs and Lords may debate the treaty in either or both Houses and vote on the proposed ratification.
In the US, both Houses of Congress would have to ratify legislation to implement the agreement, but not the agreement itself.