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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February to Question 127499, on Renewable Energy, for what reasons levels of investment in renewable energy are not monitored.

As set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government wants a diverse electricity system that supplies our homes and businesses with secure, affordable and clean power. The Department collects a wealth of data on these objectives, including on energy production, capacity, and the role of renewables, which are published quarterly[1].

Monitoring investment is challenging because there are a range of complex factors involved. Monitoring it in detail would involve Government requiring investors and developers to report in detail on the specifics of private, confidential agreements, and this would be disproportionately burdensome. In order to improve understanding of the investment landscape, Government does subscribe to commercial data services, but it would not be appropriate to report such data, both as it is proprietary and because we cannot be sure of its completeness and accuracy.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewables-section-6-energy-trends