Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
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 proportion of the 36 per cent increase in the use of bioenergy referred to in the Clean Growth Strategy which the Government plans to come from woody biomass.
Answered by Claire Perry
The modelling used to derive the changes in annual final energy consumption in 2032, relative to the existing policies scenario did not differentiate between different types of biomass fuels. The figure in Table 11 of the Clean Growth Strategy can be taken to represent a mixture of biogenic fuels, including woody biomass, waste and other sources however we have not made an estimate of which proportion will come specifically from woody biomass.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to ensure that UK consumers can benefit from the cheapest sources of electricity.
Answered by Margot James
The design of the Capacity Market drives fierce competition with existing and new resources, of all technology types, competing together. These auctions allow the market to identify which technology type is cost efficient in delivering security of supply, creating good value outcomes for consumers. Similarly, the recent Contracts for Difference allocation round for low carbon generation has demonstrated that the costs of offshore wind have fallen significantly, driven by sustained competition for support.
We are also supporting an increase in Britain’s interconnection capacity by ensuring a stable regime under which interconnector developers can bring forward projects to enable access to cheaper electricity from Europe at times of peak demand.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that there is sufficient low carbon electricity generation in the UK to meet the requirements of the fifth carbon budget.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government’s Clean Growth Strategy sets out stretching domestic policies that keep us on track to meet our carbon budgets.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to engage the UK public with future developments and opportunities associated with the UK’s transition to a low carbon energy system.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Moving to a productive low carbon economy cannot be achieved by central government alone; instead, clean growth must be a shared endeavour with business, civil society and the British people.
To this end, the Clean Growth Strategy announced that, from 2018, Government will work with business and NGOs to introduce a Green Great Britain Week.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise businesses and consumers to participate in demand-side flexibility to reduce the cost of meeting the requirements of the fifth carbon budget.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government published the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan in July 2017, which outlined a series of actions to support the transition to a smart energy system, which could save the UK an estimated £17-40 billion up to 2050. The Plan includes measures to increase the participation of industrial and commercial consumers in demand side response (DSR), which focuses on improving access to energy markets and actively supporting National Grid’s changes to ancillary services. The Plan also details policies to enable domestic consumers to participate in DSR, including measures to increase the availability of smart tariffs and on standards for smart appliances, alongside provisions for appropriate consumer protection.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that potential delays to the construction of new nuclear power stations do not undermine the UK’s ability to meet the requirements of the fifth carbon budget.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Clean Growth Strategy sets out an indicative pathway to 2032 for meeting the fifth carbon budget through domestic action. This is one of a number of possible pathways. The route we ultimately take to meeting our targets will depend on a range of factors, in particular ensuring we are mindful of any impact on energy costs for households and businesses, and changes in costs as a result of innovation.