Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to help encourage the development of onshore wind projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since 2010 there has been an almost fourfold increase in the volume of onshore wind, and the Government continues to incentivise and promote deployment. We have announced that there will be up to £120 million of funding available to support established renewable technologies such as onshore wind in the next Contracts for Difference auction. In England, the Government has also made changes to national planning policy to ensure local authorities can respond more flexibly to suitable opportunities for onshore wind while respecting the views of their local communities.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department plans to introduce a national monitoring system to track land being developed for ground mounted solar.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has no current plans to introduce such a system.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the supply chains of UK solar companies do not include Uyghur slave labour.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to tackling the issue of forced labour in supply chains, including the mining of polysilicon used in the manufacture of solar panels.
The Solar Taskforce is considering this issue as a priority, taking forward the actions needed to develop resilient and sustainable supply chains.
The solar industry has developed and implemented the Solar Stewardship Initiative which will ensure a responsible and transparent solar value chain.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing mandated community benefit criteria for new solar developments.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Solar developers offer a range of community benefit schemes. These include funding for environmental enhancements, job schemes and energy discounts. Other schemes offer investment in local infrastructure, such as faster broadband, electric vehicle charging points or energy efficiency measures. The Government considers these schemes are best agreed locally and voluntarily to ensure they meet the needs of the local area.