Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral evidence of the Minister for Energy and Climate to the Scottish Affairs Committee's inquiry into Hydrogen and carbon capture in Scotland, HC 83 Q258, on 16 January 2023, across which financial years the £40 million of Government expenditure on the Scottish cluster for carbon capture utilisation and storage was allocated; and how much funding was provided in each of those financial years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
This information is being gathered. As soon as it is available, the information will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much the Government has allocated to the carbon capture utilisation and storage Scottish cluster in each financial year since 2017-18.
Answered by Graham Stuart
This information is being gathered. As soon as it is available, the information will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the government's budget for carbon capture and storage expenditure over the next five years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In the 2023 Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an unprecedented £20 billion investment in the early development of carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). The quantum of spend within a given period will depend on the outcome of commercial negotiations and will be subject to confirmation at the next and subsequent spending reviews.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a bridging mechanism to support generators in the transition from unabated biomass to power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government is assessing whether transitional support, such as a bridging mechanism, may be appropriate for facilitating the transition from unabated biomass generation to power Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimated full unit cost of (1) energy produced from various carbon fuels utilising carbon capture and storage, and (2) energy produced by various renewable means.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government regularly publishes its view of the levelised cost of generating a unit of electricity from various technologies, including renewables and gas-fired power generation with CCUS, in the Electricity generation costs report which was updated in 2023.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding the Government has provided to support net zero innovation projects in 2020 Parliament.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Across financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22, UK government spent £1.975 billion on energy research, development and demonstration. This included support for net zero innovation projects across energy efficiency, renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture utilisation and storage, power and storage technologies as well as cross-cutting research on clean energy solutions.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hours officials in her Department have spent working on the alignment of training standards between the offshore (a) oil and gas and (b) wind sectors in each year from 2018.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department does not collect data on officials’ detailed hourly activities. However, work on this topic is ongoing across government and industry.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education engages in ongoing reviews of apprenticeship standards, including Level 3 Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician which has a wind turbine specialism. The skills learnt in this apprenticeship are transferrable to other sectors including offshore oil and gas. These reviews are led by employers to ensure our apprenticeships are staying up to date with the latest developments in industry.
Industrial bodies such as the Oil and Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) are doing extensive work on policies including the all-energy qualification and skills passport. Industry-based training pathways are a crucial part of ensuring a continually robust offshore workforce. The department works with OPITO to collaborate on skills policy for England.
The Green Jobs Delivery Group is carrying out sectoral assessments through industry-expert task and finish groups to consider current and future demand for skills including for power generation, oil and gas, carbon capture, and hydrogen.
Please refer to the North Sea Transition Authority for further information on the work ongoing to ensure workers in offshore oil and gas have the skills they need for the green economy, including offshore wind.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has had recent discussions with biomass generators on the potential merits of implementing a bridging mechanism to support generators as they transition from unabated biomass to power bioenergy and carbon capture.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department has held preliminary discussions with biomass generators that passed the power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project submission process about the potential merits of a bridging mechanism.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make it her policy to promote the North Sea as a location for carbon capture, usage and storage technology.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) is a priority for this Government. The UK continental shelf, and particularly the North Sea, provides a unique geological opportunity for the UK to become a world leader in this sector. The recent announcements on Track 1 and Track 2 reaffirm Government commitment, and the North Sea Transition Authority has estimated that as many as 100 CO2 stores could be required to meet net zero.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the on-farm calculations undertaken by (a) farmers and (b) her Department of on-farm (i) carbon cycling and (ii) sequestration.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(a) At present there are many tools to support on-farm carbon calculations and audits available for use by farmers and farm advisers. Defra is in the process of completing an assessment of the variability and comparability of the most popular on-farm carbon audit tools, which differ widely in their complexity and underlying methodology. There are trade-offs between the accuracy and specificity of tools, and the complexity of data required to underpin the calculations. Defra is considering options to improve standardisation.
(b)There is a mature evidence base on the cycling and sequestration of carbon within and through the farmed and semi-natural landscape. On-farm emissions are monitored and assessed through the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and Defra is seeking to understand broader supply chain emissions through additional research. Other research has assessed methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in farming and carbon stores; all of which undergoes independent scrutiny through peer review.