Solar Power

(asked on 3rd February 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Committee for Climate Change's report entitled, Net Zero Technical Report, published May 2019, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendation that solar PV may require to be increased to 54GW by 2035; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Kwasi Kwarteng Portrait
Kwasi Kwarteng
This question was answered on 11th February 2020

This government is committed to delivering net zero emissions by 2050 which will require significant effort in all sectors. In power, we have made great progress in decarbonising electricity generation whilst meeting demand, and over half our electricity generation was from low-carbon sources last year, up from 23% in 2010.

As we continue to reduce emissions the exact mix of the electricity system will be affected by the approach to decarbonisation in other sectors, technology costs and the emergence of new technologies. 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 will be 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.

It will be the first major statement in energy on how we plan to deliver on our Net Zero commitment, setting out our approach in power generation, buildings decarbonisation, networks and markets, industrial decarbonisation, and oil and gas.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State plans to publish an energy white paper in Q1 2020.

Reticulating Splines