Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the evidential basis is for his proposal to ban new onshore wind farms.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK Government has not proposed to ban new onshore wind farms.
We were elected with a manifesto commitment to support the development of wind projects on the remote islands of Scotland, where they will directly benefit local communities. A consultation on this and other issues has recently closed and we are currently considering the responses we have received.
We do not believe that more large-scale onshore wind is right for England. The previous Government introduced new planning tests to ensure that new onshore wind farms are only granted planning permission where local people support them.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Government plans to invest in renewable energy in 2018-2019; and whether this figure is an increase from the previous year.
Answered by Claire Perry
The figures for environmental levies across Great Britain are published by the Office for Budget Responsibility alongside the Budget and Spring Statement fiscal events. The latest figures are available here http://obr.uk/efo/economic-fiscal-outlook-march-2018/.
The forecasted support for renewables in 2017-18 is £7.5bn and is expected to increase to £8.8bn in 2018-19. This support does not include transport. Government funded investment through the Renewables Heat Incentive has committed spend of up to £780m for 2017/18 and £1010m for 2019/20. An additional £177m in innovation funding is also committed to further reduce the cost of renewables.