Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the revised national policy statements for energy infrastructure on energy infrastructure development in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy National Policy Statements are not spatial and therefore do not include reference to specific geographical impacts. National Policy Statements provide the framework for decision-making on development consent orders and include clear guidance for developers on stringent requirements to assess and address project-level impacts within their applications. Strategic environmental assessments (Appraisal of Sustainability and Habitats Regulations Assessment) of the draft National Policy Statements have been published on gov.uk for public consultation, alongside the revised draft National Policy Statements.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the potential change in renewable energy capacity in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire over the next five years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not forecast changes in renewable electricity capacity at this level. The progress of UK renewable electricity projects over 150 kW through the planning system are published in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD).
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the current capacity is of renewable energy generation in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Renewable electricity generation statistics for each local authority are published in Regional Renewable Statistics. At the end of 2023, Buckinghamshire’s recorded electricity generation capacity was 223 MW.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the contribution to the UK's 2030 net zero target of (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Central Government does not set net zero targets for local government, however, Government recognises the important role of local places, including Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire, to help realise our national 2050 net zero target. Great British Energy, our new publicly-owned energy company, will support local energy generation by partnering with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, Devolved Governments and local and community energy groups to increase the roll-out of renewable energy projects. Government also funds the Local Net Zero Hubs which support local authorities across England to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment, including through information and knowledge-sharing.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of how many jobs carbon capture and storage network initiatives will create in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes over the next five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A strong UK CCUS sector will support well paid, highly skilled jobs across the UK, supporting 50,000 jobs in the 2030s across the CCUS industry. Whilst there are no projects that are currently being negotiated with HMG through the cluster sequencing process, in the mentioned areas, the CCUS sector is expected to have a positive impact with DESNZ analysis showing that CCUS has the potential to generate £4-5bn GVA per year by 2050.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the capacity to support increased renewable energy generation of the electricity grid in (i) Buckinghamshire and (ii) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Electricity network capacity information is available at the website of each Distribution Network Operator that serves Buckinghamshire. For National Grid Electricity Distribution (which covers Milton Keynes) this can be found at: https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/our-network/network-capacity-map/. For UK Power Networks https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/pages/network-infrastructure-usage-map/?grid=true. For Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks https://network-maps.ssen.co.uk/. The National Energy System Operator also has information on transmission network capacity at: https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/connections/connections-360.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 support businesses to transition to clean energy sources in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government committed £163 million to continue delivery for all existing projects in Phases 1 and 2 and the first Phase 3 competition window of the IETF (Spring 2024) through to completion.
Businesses are eligible to claim up to £7,500 towards the cost of a heat pump up to 45 kWth under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
We encourage SMEs to visit the UK Business Climate Hub, which provides information and advice to SMEs on how to reduce energy use and carbon emissions.
Ministers are considering opportunities to support UK businesses to decarbonize and reach Net Zero as part of the Spending Review. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of small businesses that will benefit from the Energy Bill Discount Scheme in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes, between 28 October 2024 and 31 March 2025.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bills Discount Scheme closed on 31 March 2024, and so no businesses will benefit from the scheme during this time.