Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the classified output from their proposed UK satellite navigation system would be shared with the Five Eyes intelligence community.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Five Eyes partners are aware of proposals for a UK Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The Programme is currently in its Engineering, Design and Development Phase to research and understand what would best suit the UK’s positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) requirements. The services that a system would offer and their potential users are being determined as part of that work.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what classified output from the EU’s Galileo satellite system will be made available to the Five Eyes intelligence community.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is possible under EU rules for third countries, including the Five Eyes intelligence community, to request access to the Galileo secure navigation signal, known as the Public Regulated Service (PRS), from the EU. The EU has excluded the UK from the security-related sensitive aspects of Galileo, including the PRS, since January 2018. This led to the UK stating that we do not intend to use the Galileo PRS for defence or security as we are unable to assure ourselves of the system because of this exclusion from the security-related elements.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Prime Minister on 24 July 2019, what steps they have taken to establish a UK satellite navigation system.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Programme is currently in its Engineering, Design and Development Phase to research and understand what would best suit the UK’s positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) requirements. The Programme is taking the appropriate time to investigate the requirements, design specifications and costs as fully as possible. This includes assessing value for money, scope for innovation, new markets and how much a system could meet the UKs assured PNT requirements.
We recently proceeded with a number of technical contracts from April to September to deliver key engineering work whilst protecting skills and technical GNSS sector jobs. We are now considering workstreams past September in addition to looking at wider PNT requirements, bringing together expertise from across Whitehall, industry and the PNT community to consider the requirements across military, civil and Critical National Infrastructure sectors.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the feasibility study carried out by the UK Space Agency concluded that it was feasible for the UK to establish its own satellite navigation system.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is still undergoing the Engineering Design and Development Phase which will determine the requirements for delivering the capability, looking at cost, design specifications, scope for innovation and potential for new markets.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what part, if any, the UK is playing in the EU’s Galileo satellite system.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
During the implementation period, UK companies and other UK entities can continue to take part in the EU’s space programmes, except in the security-related sensitive aspects of Galileo where UK participation has been excluded by the European Commission since January 2018. UK companies continue to deliver contracts for the EU’s space programmes, such as the construction of Galileo payloads by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). The UK now does not have a level of access to Galileo that would enable us to assure the system and use it for purposes such as defence and security. As such, the UK will not seek to continue participation in the Galileo programme at the end of the implementation period.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 3 February (HL829), what was the peak electricity requirement in 2019; and how much they estimate it will be in 2032.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The peak electricity requirement for Great Britain in 2019 was estimated by National Grid in their Future Energy Scenarios to be 989 -1051 TWh/year and in 2032 it is estimated to be 755 – 1000 TWh/year. Actual peak demand for 2019 will be available at the end of February 2020.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 3 February (HL829), whether they expect the UK to require less energy in 2032 than at present.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios (2019) estimate that GB is likely to require less energy in 2032 than at present. For 2019 the forecast energy requirement is estimated to be between 989 and 1051 TWh/year, in 2032 the amount of energy required falls to 755 – 1000 TWh/year. Actual peak demand for 2019 will be available at the end of February 2020.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what method produces the greatest quantity of low carbon electricity in the UK at present.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
UK electricity generation data are published by the department in Energy Trends tables 5.1 and 6.1. Wind produced the most low carbon electricity in the latest published 12 month period, from October 2018 to September 2019.
Provisional figures for 2019 will be published in Energy Trends on Thursday 26th March.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of low carbon produced electricity they expect to be required by 2050.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is likely that electricity demand will grow significantly by 2050 as other sectors of the economy such as transport and heat are electrified, potentially doubling from today’s levels. In order to meet this increasing demand, whilst reducing emissions to low levels, there will need to be a substantial increase in low carbon generation – the Committee on Climate Change estimate a four-fold increase may be needed.
The forthcoming Energy White Paper will address the transformation of our energy system in the context of delivering net-zero by 2050.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they expect the requisite level of low carbon electricity will be produced in 2050.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The generation mix in 2050 will be affected by the approach to decarbonisation in other sectors, technology costs, the emergence of new technologies and the flexibility of the electricity system. It is not for government to prescribe the proportion of generation that will come from any specific technology in 2050; rather the role of government is to enable the market to deliver the levels of deployment required whilst minimising both emissions and systems costs.
The Energy White Paper will address the transformation of our energy system in the context of delivering net-zero by 2050.