Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 electricity demand of large‑scale data centres, in (1) the UK and (2) those located in the North East; and what plans exist to ensure adequate grid capacity to support future digital growth.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department’s energy and emissions projections include growth in power demand from computing services like data centres. To ensure a comprehensive view of the system, the methodology projects at a broader sector level, not disaggregating specific estimates for data centres.
The Government is committed to ensuring electricity networks can meet rising electricity demand, including from data centres, by deploying new renewable and low-carbon generation in line with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The Capacity Market ensures supply continuously meets demand, balancing cost and reliability to maintain adequate electricity security.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that new offshore wind developments deliver long‑term skilled jobs and supply‑chain opportunities for communities in the North East.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has set out a package of support for offshore wind supply chains and infrastructure of up to £1bn, including £300m from Great British Energy, £400m from The Crown Estate and £300m from industry. Allocation Round 7 secured a record 8.4GW of offshore wind capacity, supporting investment across the UK. This is already translating into local jobs and investment, including the recent offshore foundation fabrication contract at Smulders worth more than £60 million. The Crown Estate recently announced that their next seabed leasing round (Round 6) will be launched in 2027 and will focus on sites off the coast of the North East of England.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how Green Book appraisal criteria are used to assess investments in energy infrastructure in regions with high industrial and renewable potential, including the North East.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HM Treasury’s Green Book sets out the framework for assessing value for money for taxpayers across different policy proposals. It is applied consistently across all regions. However, it also uses place-based analysis to account for differences between towns, regions and countries, including areas such as the North East.
When assessing infrastructure proposals, officials consider the full range of societal costs and benefits, including upfront and operating costs, changes in energy use, and impacts on greenhouse gas emissions. These are quantified and monetised using the best available evidence and standardised assumptions, ensuring consistent and robust assessments for ministers.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 potential impact of industrial electricity prices on inward investment in AI data centres since OpenAI’s decision to pause its UK Stargate project.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is focused on continuing to create the right conditions for investment in the UK’s AI and data centre infrastructure.
Through the AI Energy Council, it is already bringing together energy system bodies and leading technology companies, including NESO, EDF, Microsoft and Google, to address the energy implications of AI growth and ensure the system is ready to support future demand.
Alongside this, the Government is bringing forward a consultation on discounting data centres' energy costs for eligible projects in areas with excess electricity supply, including Scotland, Cumbria and the North East.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the total untapped offshore wind generating capacity in the North Sea; and what proportion of that capacity could be brought forward through future Crown Estate leasing rounds.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In January 2026 the UK signed a clean energy pact with Germany, France, Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Norway. This noted that 300GW of offshore wind could be built across the North Sea by 2050. The Crown Estate has said publicly that they could bring 20-30GW of new offshore wind capacity to market by 2030.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for UK energy grid procurement policies of the Strider report on US grid dependency on Chinese components.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The protection and security of the energy sector is an absolute priority of this Government. My department is committed to working closely across Government and industry stakeholders to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, innovative and secure. Investment in the energy sector is subject to the highest levels of national security scrutiny – we take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing relations with China and will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must.
As an open economy, we welcome foreign trade and investment where it supports growth and jobs in the UK, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the procurement and contract‑management processes used for the Fuel Finder project; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that public money allocated to this project has been spent effectively and provides value for money.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A competitive and open tender process was run for Fuel Finder in line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and government procurement policies and guidance. Evaluation criteria included quality, technical criteria and total cost.
The Fuel Finder contract is managed in line with the Government Digital Service Standard and is overseen by Departmental project boards, following established governance arrangements and spend assurance processes that apply to all major digital and commercial projects.
All of the above are steps taken to ensure an effective implementation and the project will continue to be reviewed to ensure value for money, minimising and managing costs carefully.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps with the Office for Product Safety and Standards to ensure that regulations and repairability indexes for small electrical devices promote not only professional repair services but also end-user self-repair.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 require manufacturers of a number of products to provide certain spare parts to end-users as well as professional repairers. The Government continues to review ecodesign and energy labelling regulations for other small electrical devices as part of our ongoing programme of work. We are committed to introducing repairability measures, including those designed to support end-users, where doing so is appropriate.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether GB Energy has a role in the decarbonising of pre-existing housing stock.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy will develop, invest in, build, and operate clean energy projects across the UK. The Government is supporting decarbonisation of housing stock through other initiatives.
We have committed £3.4 billion over the next 3 years to the Warm Homes Plan, and across 2025 to 2026, we will oversee approximately £3.2 billion of investment in warmer homes.
This will include around £1 billion as part of our Warm Homes Plan, and other funding from social housing providers and obligations from suppliers. This could facilitate up to 300,000 homes to benefit from upgrades next year, helping reduce energy bills and deliver warmer homes that are cleaner to heat.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to encourage the connection of residential developments to district heating schemes.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh
The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050.
To deliver this ambition we are transforming the heat network market through policies like heat network zoning, which identifies areas of England where heat networks are expected to be the lowest cost solution for decarbonising heat.
Through heat network zoning, certain types of buildings including communally heated residential buildings could be required to connect to a network within a prescribed timeframe.
This will allow for large-scale strategic heat networks to be built in towns and cities across the country.