Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with energy providers on promoting renewable energy use on (a) rural and (b) urban farms.

The Secretary of State and other Ministers have not had any recent discussions with energy providers about promoting renewable energy use on rural or urban farms.

The Countryside Productivity Scheme offers grants to eligible rural and urban farms for equipment that would enable more efficient use of on-farm generated renewable energy. Grants are available to go towards the costs of purchasing equipment such as electrical battery storage systems and heat distribution networks.

The Rural Community Energy Fund provides funding for feasibility studies for rural communities to develop, own and generate their own energy.