Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to increase the speed of short-term measures to reduce emissions and improve climate resilience.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is committed to greater climate resilience and mitigation, and is investing ÂŁ97m for the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, including specialist equipment, dedicated off-road vehicles, enhanced incident management and wildfire training for firefighters.
This summer has been the hottest on record, and preparing for more extreme weather is part of building a more resilient country. That is why we have extended the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant to air-to-air heat pumps, which can cool as well as heat a home, we have made plug-in solar available across Great Britain, and we are investing significantly to upgrade the school estate.
Alongside this, our Energising Britain plan provides households with clear, accessible and impartial information about the everyday actions people can take to cut bills, reduce emissions, and protect the environment.
The Prime Minister also announced measures to support farmers in August, including up to ÂŁ15m funding to build on-farm reservoirs, and temporary adjustments to Environmental Land Management Agreements.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of Government support for carbon capture and storage projects associated with new gas-fired power stations with the UK's net zero commitments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
CCUS will decarbonise industry and power in a way that drives growth, supports high productivity jobs and accelerates towards net zero. Through CCUS we can produce flexible, low-carbon power which will displace the use of unabated gas when renewable energy sources like solar and wind are not available. CCUS will be essential to meeting our climate commitments, with the Climate Change Committee (CCC) saying they “cannot see a route to Net Zero that does not include CCS.” Our modelling shows that CCUS forms part of the lowest-cost pathway to meeting carbon budgets and net zero.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the review of AI deployment in electricity networks will include an assessment of the net effect on electricity demand of (a) AI-enabled grid efficiencies and (b) data-centre consumption.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Review’s Terms of Reference state that consideration of data centre energy usage is out of scope for the purposes of the review.
The Terms of Reference also state that the review will "assess the potential system benefits of AI including for affordability, energy security, flexibility, and decarbonisation, and the potential risks and challenges that could undermine delivery of these benefits".
Any recommendations to emerge from the review would be subject to their own assessments by Government, including the consideration of net impacts to electricity demand.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the computational and energy requirements of (a) the machine learning and optimisation techniques used for electricity network management and (b) large language models.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Machine learning is not currently used for electricity grid management. Any future energy required will depend on how machine learning will be used.
The UK Government contracted Europe Economics to research whether future electricity demand from AI data centres will add to overall UK energy demand, or whether it will replace electricity currently used elsewhere in the economy (Europe Economics study). We have also recently procured a follow-up study in order to extend the methodology from the Europe Economics work to further 10 use cases.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the data-centre capacity required to deliver the grid applications identified in the Interim AI Adoption Plan: Clean Energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has not produced an estimate of the data-centre capacity required specifically for the grid applications identified in the Interim AI Adoption Plan: Clean Energy.
The Government is, however, undertaking broader analysis of the potential growth in demand from AI and data centres as part of ongoing work on energy demand projections, electricity network planning and AI infrastructure policy.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of customers affected by the insolvency of Rowan Energy Ltd and (b) total value of unpaid Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payments owed to those customers; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that affected customers receive the payments due.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of customers affected by the insolvency of Rowan Renewable Energy Ltd, or the value of any unpaid sums owed to those customers. Rowan Energy Ltd was not a FIT licensee on the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme, so was operating outside its regulatory framework.
Generators who believe they are owed FIT payments should contact their FIT licensee in the first instance. Where a generator has opted out of FIT export payments and entered a separate arrangement for their export, this would fall outside the FIT scheme.
The Government is engaging with the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that any appropriate regulatory action related to Rowan Energy Ltd is taken and that affected consumers are appropriately supported.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that nature restoration is integrated alongside clean energy deployment as part of wider environmental and climate resilience objectives.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that restoring nature and tackling climate change are intrinsically linked. We remain committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while also reversing nature loss, supported by existing legislation and policy frameworks.
Through the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, we are delivering clean energy deployment alongside wider environmental objectives, including improved air quality and access to nature.
Moving forward, the Government intends to deliver the second annual statement on the state of climate and nature to Parliament this summer. Like last year's statement, it will provide an honest appraisal of the state of climate and nature in the UK alongside highlighting the action being taken to benefit people now, as well as future generations.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing Contracts for Difference for heat networks on consumers.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We welcome the proposal from the Heat Network Industry Council and we are assessing it in detail.
Heat networks are a key component of the Government’s strategy to deliver secure, affordable and low‑carbon heat, as set out in the Warm Homes Plan.
They enable the efficient distribution of heat from a central source to multiple buildings, and are particularly well suited to densely populated urban areas and locations with access to large-scale, low‑carbon or waste heat sources.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap and floor design to repower renewable energy generation projects post-contract.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government amended the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme from Allocation Round 7 (AR7) to enable the repowering of onshore wind projects, following consultation and stakeholder engagement. Repowered onshore wind projects are now eligible to compete for CfD support.
The Government will keep under review the potential extension of repowering arrangements to other renewable technologies, such as offshore wind, in future allocation rounds.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Germany's Contracts for Difference scheme for industry to electrify and decarbonise effectively.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
UK and German officials regularly engage to exchange best practices and lessons learnt on industrial decarbonisation, including on issues such as auction design and support schemes, notably through the UK-Germany Climate and Energy partnership, as well as through multilateral fora including the Climate Club, the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative, and the Breakthrough Agenda.