Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
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 publish a quarterly searchable record of Community Interest Companies.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (CICs) publishes a monthly list of newly incorporated CICs. This is freely available and can be downloaded at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-interest-companies-new-cics-registered-in-last-month.
As CICs are limited companies, all CICS are listed on the public register which is published and maintained by Companies House and is also freely available on the Companies House website at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house/about-our-services#find-info.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the National Grid on preparedness for a coronal mass ejection.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK has one of the most robust energy systems in the world. Our power network is resilient and built to withstand impacts from weather conditions, including Severe Space Weather.
The Government, working and engaging extensively with National Grid, other infrastructure operators and the Met Office Space Weather Operation Centre (MOSWOC), has taken significant steps to ensure the UK’s preparedness for major space weather events, such as a Coronal Mass Ejection.
Additionally, in October 2019, the UK Government announced a £20m boost to predict severe space weather events. This will further build the UK’s knowledge on how to forecast and better prepare for these space weather events.
National Grid are ensuring preparedness by increasing the number of transformer spares to help minimise timescales to replace damaged equipment. They are also replacing high voltage transformers with new designs which are more resilient and resistant to extra currents and undertaking emergency exercises aimed at improving knowledge, resilience, and response capability.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat on the UK's preparedness for a coronal mass ejection.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK has one of the most robust energy systems in the world. The Department works closely with the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) on preparedness, resilience, and emergency planning for the risks to critical energy infrastructure, including Severe Space Weather.
Severe Space Weather was added to the UK’s National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) in 2011.The CCS works closely with Lead Government Departments, including BEIS, to periodically update the NSRA, to ensure robust mitigations are in place.
The Government, working and engaging extensively with National Grid, other infrastructure operators and the Met Office Space Weather Operation Centre (MOSWOC), has taken significant steps to ensure the UK’s preparedness for major space weather events, such as a Coronal Mass Ejection.
Additionally, in October 2019, the UK Government announced a £20m boost to predict severe space weather events. This nearly quadruples investment from government into research that can improve systems at the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre. This will further build the UK’s knowledge on how to forecast and better prepare for these space weather events.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 51817 on Tidal Power: Swansea Bay, if he will set out the exact range of capital assumptions made by his Department, in British pounds, for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon value for money assessment.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The capital cost assumptions used in the Value for Money Assessment of the proposed programme of lagoons[1] were derived from information shared under a non-disclosure agreement between Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay) Plc, Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd and the Department.
The Department believes the non-disclosure agreement still applies in this case and the information cannot be released.
[1] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-value-for-money-assessment
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 51817 on Tidal Power: Swansea Bay, what range of hurdle rates, comparable to those more established renewable energy technologies, such as solar PV, onshore wind and large hydropower, were used for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon value for money assessment.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The hurdle rates applied across the portfolio of tidal lagoons in the Department’s value for money assessment[1] are shown in Table 1. The hurdle rates for other low carbon technologies estimated at the time of the value for money assessment are shown in Table 2.
Table 1: Range of hurdle rates applied to proposed programme of tidal lagoons[2]
Hurdle Rate Scenario | Hurdle rate (real terms, pre-tax) |
Low | 6.2% |
Central | 8.0% |
High | 9.0% |
Table 2: Selected hurdle rates for other low carbon technologies (up to date at time the assessment was undertaken)[3]
Technology | Hurdle rate (real terms, pre-tax) |
Onshore wind | 6.7% |
Offshore wind | 8.9% |
Solar PV (>5MW) | 6.5% |
Nuclear | 8.9% |
Gas with CCUS (first of a kind) | 11.3% |
Hydro (>5MW) | 6.9% |
[1] Available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-value-for-money-assessment
[2] Source: BEIS commercial advisory
[3] Source: BEIS Electricity Generation Costs Report (2016), available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-electricity-generation-costs-november-2016
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason a 35-year contract for difference assumption was used for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon value for money assessment when the project's estimated lifespan is 120 years.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department considered a range of factors in coming to this conclusion. These included the proposed design life of project, the extent to which bill payers should accept operating life risk, a rapidly evolving energy market, and the falling cost of other renewable technologies.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what value assumptions his Department made in the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project value for money assessment for years 36 to 120 of the project's lifespan, beyond the life of the 35-year contract for difference assumption.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The key categories of assumptions used are listed in Annex B of the Department’s value for money assessment for the proposed programme of tidal lagoons.[1]
Test 2a of the assessment considered levelised cost, expressed in £/MWh terms, of the proposed lagoons over their full assumed asset life of 120 years.
Test 2b (costs of the GB power system) and Test 3 (household bills) assessed the proposed lagoons over the period to 2050. In these cases the costs of the lagoon were spread over the full 120 year asset life. This means that for a tidal lagoon commissioning in 2035, only 15 years’ worth of costs will have been factored in and compared to any benefits occurring over those same 15 years. This approach avoids a mismatch between costs and benefits in the value for money assessment.
[1] Available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-value-for-money-assessment
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assumptions were made in the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project value for money assessment on the number of green jobs that would be created by the fleet of tidal lagoon projects, starting at Swansea Bay.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department’s value for money assessment for the proposed programme of tidal lagoons[1] considered the wider benefits, including the value of jobs supported.
The estimated number of direct jobs underlying this part of the assessment peaked at around 18,000 FTE in any one year across the lagoon fleet. The number of direct jobs maintained across the lagoon fleet once construction had completed was estimated at around 1,000 FTE per year. Indirect jobs were also considered, with a range tested around 2 indirect jobs per direct job.
[1] Available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-value-for-money-assessment
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 21 May 2020 to Question 46026, what was the assumed cost of capital used in the value for money assessment into Swansea Bay tidal lagoon published on 25 June 2018.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The value for money analysis undertaken by the Department used a range of different cost of capital assumptions. This included scenarios in the lower range using hurdle rates which were comparable to those for more established renewable energy technologies, such as solar PV, onshore wind and large hydropower.