Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the local economy of his Department's decision to not support a finance package for Sirius Minerals' Woodsmith Mine project.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Sirius Minerals have recently made a statement to adjust their work programme and undertake a strategic review of the project. The Government will continue to monitor the progress of the work. Sirius Minerals have stated they will continue to find alternative sources of investment so that they can complete the Woodsmith Mine project.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost to Sirius Minerals PLC of the decision by his Department not to support a finance package for that company's Woodsmith Mine project.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Sirius Minerals have recently made a statement to adjust their work programme and undertake a strategic review of the project. The Government will continue to monitor the progress of the work. Sirius Minerals have stated they will continue to find alternative sources of investment so that they can complete the Woodsmith Mine project.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 Government’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, by how much her Department plans to increase the proportion of green gas in the gas network; and if she will bring forward proposals to amend Section 3 of the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 to prepare for the increased use of green gas in the grid.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In this year’s Spring Statement, the Government stated our commitment to accelerating the decarbonisation of our gas supplies by increasing the proportion of green gas in the grid and to consult on the appropriate mechanism to deliver this commitment later this year.
The Gas Safety (Management) Regulations are the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive. Officials continue to engage with the HSE to support their ongoing assessment of proposals to amend Section 3 of the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 H21 North of England report by H21 et al. published in November 2018, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the proposals in that report to convert the gas networks across the North of England to hydrogen.
Answered by Claire Perry
I welcome the contribution this study makes to the evidence base on the potential approaches to decarbonising how we heat our homes, businesses and industry. There is no clear consensus on how best to decarbonise heat at scale. Using the gas grid to transport hydrogen is one of several potential approaches, which include heat networks, heat pumps and biogas. The government's review of the evidence base on approaches to decarbonising heat is set out in our report ‘Clean Growth: Transforming Heating’.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the development and innovation of UK-produced domestic appliances that use hydrogen.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department is currently undertaking a £25 million project to explore the option of using hydrogen gas for heating UK homes and businesses. This work includes supporting the development of domestic boilers, fires, cookers and other innovative appliances that use hydrogen. BEIS has awarded 16 contracts as part of this development process which is scheduled to complete by March 2021.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 progress of the (a) HyDeploy project and (b) potential benefits of blending hydrogen with natural gas for supply into the domestic gas grid.
Answered by Claire Perry
HyDeploy is funded under Ofgem’s Gas Network Innovation Competition and is being delivered by the HyDeploy consortium, led by Cadent and Northern Gas Networks. However, officials are following the progress of the project closely. The Government considers that the use of hydrogen, including through blending, has the potential to contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of heating and welcomes projects such as HyDeploy which further develop evidence on the technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness of such options.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 progress that (a) Tees Valley Combined Authority, (b) Liverpool City Region and (c) Leeds City Council have made in supporting the development and implementation of hydrogen conversion technology.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the progress that that Local Authorities have made in supporting the development and implementation of hydrogen conversion technology. However, in the course of work to understand how the UK can move to low carbon heating and the potential role of hydrogen in the wider energy system, my officials and I have met with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders.
Our engagement has taken a number of forms - bilateral engagement, roundtables, conferences and workshops - and has included engagement with, among others: Scottish Government, Welsh Government, the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region, Swindon Council, Swindon and Wiltshire LEP, Cheshire and Warrington LEP, and Greater London Authority.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which local authorities he has met with to discuss the steps they are taking to support the development and implementation of hydrogen conversion technology.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the progress that that Local Authorities have made in supporting the development and implementation of hydrogen conversion technology. However, in the course of work to understand how the UK can move to low carbon heating and the potential role of hydrogen in the wider energy system, my officials and I have met with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders.
Our engagement has taken a number of forms - bilateral engagement, roundtables, conferences and workshops - and has included engagement with, among others: Scottish Government, Welsh Government, the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region, Swindon Council, Swindon and Wiltshire LEP, Cheshire and Warrington LEP, and Greater London Authority.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 progress by local authorities on supporting development and implementation of hydrogen conversion technology in their local area.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the progress that that Local Authorities have made in supporting the development and implementation of hydrogen conversion technology. However, in the course of work to understand how the UK can move to low carbon heating and the potential role of hydrogen in the wider energy system, my officials and I have met with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders.
Our engagement has taken a number of forms - bilateral engagement, roundtables, conferences and workshops - and has included engagement with, among others: Scottish Government, Welsh Government, the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region, Swindon Council, Swindon and Wiltshire LEP, Cheshire and Warrington LEP, and Greater London Authority.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2018 to Question 166496 on Energy: Hydrogen, when the Government plans to publish further information on the work it is undertaking to strengthen and assess the evidence on the range of potential approaches to decarbonising heat.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department continues to publish findings from externally commissioned studies in support of work to strengthen the evidence of potential approaches to decarbonising heat. We plan to publish a report on our review of the evidence in due course.