Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the public purse, (b) businesses and (c) households of meeting net zero by 2050.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. Meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. The Climate Change Committee estimates the cost of meeting net zero targets will be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year and the OBR estimates the cost of failing to deal with climate change will be 5% of UK GDP per year
The 0.2% cost also does not take into account the wider beneficial growth impacts of net zero investment. Since July 2024, £52bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries
The OBR is clear that the costs of climate damage are getting higher, while the cost of the net zero transition is getting lower. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of renewable energy equipment installed in the UK was manufactured in China.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold data on what proportion of renewable energy equipment installed in the UK was manufactured in China.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) solar radiation management initiatives and (b) other Government-funded geoengineering research projects on (i) the environment and (ii) public health; and whether he plans to (A) consult and (B) seek Parliamentary approval before any large-scale experimentation is undertaken.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification.
Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to prioritise the use of agrivoltaics in approved solar farms on agricultural land classified as best and most versatile.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar energy can be an important way for farmers to increase their revenue from land less suited to higher-value crop production. For example, a number of solar farms have combined solar with livestock grazing. The emerging science of agrivoltaics is developing innovative ways for solar to be integrated with arable farming. The Solar Taskforce has been looking at the use of innovative technologies, and findings will be published in the Solar Roadmap soon.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many staff in his Department are responsible for (a) processing and (b) responding to Freedom of Information Act requests; and if he will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of this work.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not have a specific number of staff tasked with processing and responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. On receipt, FOI requests are allocated to officials in the area of the Department relevant to the subject of the request, who then provide the response.
The Department’s Information Rights Team (IRT) provides advice and assistance to staff on the application of information rights legislation. The IRT consists of seven members of staff.
FOI requests vary considerably from case-to-case in terms of complexity and effort required to provide a response. It is not possible to estimate the annual cost of responding to all the FOI requests the department receives.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total installed capacity is of combined-cycle gas turbine power stations in the UK; how much of that capacity is from plants commissioned in the last (a) five and (b) 20 years; and what the projected total capacity requirement is expected to be by 2029.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data on combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power stations are published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics.
Modelling analysis from the National Energy System Operator, which covers Great Britain, suggests around 35GW of unabated gas capacity, which includes CCGTs as well as other types of gas generators, will need to be available by 2030 to maintain security of supply.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much his Department has spent on measures to achieve net zero targets in the last five years.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.” Spending Review 2021 set out £26 billion of public capital investment in net zero over four years across Government.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who received grants for heat source pumps under (a) the Green Homes Grant and (b) similar schemes are supported when systems prove unfit for purpose and the installation company goes into liquidation.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme required that consumers seek advice from a suitably qualified TrustMark registered installer before they applied for a voucher. It also required that installations meet Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 2035.
If a homeowner believes that any installation work carried out in their home under a Government scheme is faulty, they should first contact the installer. Where the installer has failed to adequately resolve the issue or have ceased trading, they may refer to TrustMark’s website which contains further guidance on steps consumers can take if things go wrong and the dispute resolution process: (https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner/support/complaints-process).
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the annual subsidy is for renewable energy projects; and what the average increase in consumer energy bills was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This data is published by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility and Ofgem.
Renewables provide energy security by reducing our exposure to gas price volatility, as well as providing significant savings for those households and businesses directly benefitting from small-scale renewable measures, such as solar panels.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total expenditure was on achieving net zero targets in each year since 2015 by sector; and what the corresponding estimated total reduction in global emissions was in the same period.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.