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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what infrastructure they plan to deploy to transmit the electricity generated from renewables both onshore and offshore to the national grid; and whether they plan to exclude the use of overhead powerlines for that purpose.

Regulation of the electricity network is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. It is the responsibility of network companies to provide the infrastructure required to transmit electricity generated from renewables and they do this according to the framework set out by Ofgem through the price control. A number of methods can be used to transfer energy to transmission and distribution systems, including overhead powerlines. The choice of which method to use depends on a range of factors, including technical assessments, environmental impacts and costs.

The Offshore Transmission Network Review is currently considering how best to connect offshore renewable energy in the most efficient way, with a view to finding the appropriate balance between environmental, social and economic costs.