Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of emissions trading on the UK steel and ceramics industries; and what steps he is taking to help these industries with rising energy costs.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
UK ETS industrial participants, such as those in the steel and ceramics sector receive free allocations mitigating the risk of carbon leakage. Free allocations are guaranteed at current levels until 2026, and we are currently reviewing how to best target support to most at risk sectors thereafter.
The UK also has two Energy Intensive Industry (EII) Schemes offering support to eligible companies with particularly high energy costs, in addition to the six-month Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will be extended for a further 12 months as announced 9 January. Companies in the ceramics sector have received around £17m from the EII Exemption Scheme (2016-2021) and the steel sector have received over £800m to support with energy costs since 2013.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will list the gas fields that gained production licences in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
While the 33rd UK Offshore Licensing Round opened in October, awards for licences under this round will not be made until next year. Awards under the previous, 32nd licensing round were made in 2020. There have therefore not been any awards for new licences in 2022.
Oil and gas fields, after being licensed, require several consents issued by regulators, such as Development and Production Consents granted by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) before they can begin production. Several fields have received these consents in 2022.
A full list of these consents can be found on the NSTA’s website: https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/field-data/.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the amount of coal generating capacity could be made available on stand by notices.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Upon agreement between the Electricity System Operator and coal operators, there are 3 coal plants still operating in Great Britain with contingency contracts until March 2023. This totals approximately 2.4GW of capacity which can be called upon if needed for the purposes of security of supply.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has reviewed the planned dates for the closure of nuclear powers stations; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of postponing the closure dates on the safety of those stations.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The continued operation of, and any extensions to, operational dates for any UK nuclear power station is a decision for the operator, EDF, and the independent nuclear regulator, the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR), based on safety and commercial considerations. If the ONR has any safety concerns, they will not let the reactor return to service unless and until those concerns have been satisfactorily addressed and may require more regular shutdowns for ongoing review. Operational dates are kept under constant review by EDF and the ONR.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on how many days did wind power provide less than 10 per cent of UK electricity output in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold daily electricity generation data. However, for the Public Distribution System in Great Britain only, Elexon’s figures show that up to 20th December, there were 64 days in 2022 where generation from wind provided less than 10 per cent of total generation. This excludes net imports from interconnectors.
Source: Elexon half-hourly balancing mechanism reports, available at: https://www2.bmreports.com/bmrs/?q=generation/fueltype
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much was spent on National Grid constraint payments to wind generators in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The National Grid Electricity System Operator publishes data on the costs and volumes of electricity system balancing services monthly. This includes a breakdown of constraint costs by fuel type, including wind farms. The total amount paid to wind generators for 2022 has not yet been finalised. Further detail on wind farm payments paid in October can be found in The National Grid Electricity System Operator’s monthly Balancing Services Summary.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much has been paid to wind generators in subsidies in 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government supports wind generators through a number of schemes. Finalised data for total payments made in 2022 are not yet available.