Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of progress being made towards the development of nuclear fusion, and by what date they estimate that electricity generated in this manner may be available to consumers.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s STEP Programme, the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, will design, develop, and build by the 2040s a prototype fusion power plant capable of delivering energy to the UK grid. The Government has already committed over £240 million towards the first phase of STEP which will develop a concept design for the prototype plant. Hosted in West Burton, Nottinghamshire, STEP will play an important role in demonstrating the commercial viability of fusion energy and galvanise the UK fusion sector. Fusion Energy is anticipated to play a significant role in the UK’s energy production from the 2050’s and beyond.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many submissions to the second hydrogen allocation round her Department received by 19 April 2024; what the total production capacity of the projects in those submissions is; and if she will provide a breakdown of the locations of those projects by region.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hydrogen Allocation Round 2 aims to award contracts of up to 875MW, subject to affordability and value for money, to help deliver our ambition of up to 1GW of electrolytic hydrogen production projects being in operation or in construction by 2025. The application window closed on 19 April with a significant increase in interest since Hydrogen Allocation Round 1, both in number and total capacity of projects. We intend to announce the number of applications and total production capacity following initial eligibility checks. In Autumn, we then plan to announce the number, location and total capacity of projects shortlisted for the due diligence and negotiations stage.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Table 16 of the Impact Assessment for the Carbon Budget Order 2021, published on 16 April 2021, if she will publish an annual undiscounted table of the costs and benefits of each option.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Impact Assessment compared the costs and benefits of meeting net zero in 2050 for different options for the level of the Sixth Carbon Budget, including the level recommended by the Climate Change Committee which has since been voted into law. Costs and benefits were aggregated over 2020-2050 to reflect uncertainty around the precise annual profile. Given this uncertainty, the table below sets out the undiscounted costs and benefits over 5 yearly increments.
Table 1. Costs and benefits breakdown by sixth carbon budget options, Core pathway only
| Costs and benefits relative to Option 1 (Do Nothing baseline of 2100MtCO2e) | 2021-2025 | 2026-2030 | 2031-2035 | 2036-2040 | 2041-2045 | 2046-2050 |
Costs (incl. capital & finance) | Option 2, Looser, 1105Mt | 34 | 88 | 160 | 217 | 277 | 381 |
Option 3, CCC level, 965Mt | 37 | 91 | 186 | 256 | 309 | 395 | |
Option 4, Tighter, 865Mt | 38 | 94 | 206 | 301 | 328 | 389 | |
Benefits (incl. fuel & emissions savings) | Option 2, Looser, 1105Mt | 2 | 68 | 182 | 357 | 526 | 739 |
Option 3, CCC level, 965Mt | 4 | 71 | 168 | 401 | 554 | 757 | |
Option 4, Tighter, 865Mt | 12 | 98 | 174 | 387 | 540 | 762 |
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has provided recent guidance to (a) transport and (b) storage companies on the development of provisional cluster expansion plans for track-2 carbon capture, usage and storage.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The CCUS Track-2 December 2023 Market Update set out government’s proposed Track-2 approach of an ‘anchor’ and ‘buildout’ phase and high-level timelines.
Government has started initial engagement with the Acorn and Viking Transport and Storage systems. Further guidance on the process, the criteria applicable to any projects in such ‘anchor’ and ‘buildout’ phases and the respective roles of Government and the transport & storage systems will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 Government Response to the consultation entitled Proposed amendments to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Regulations, published on 14 March 2024, how many and what proportion of responses supported the proposal to cease requiring grant applicants to comply with any fabric-related Energy Performance Certificate recommendations.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government response to the consultation on proposed amendments to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme regulations sets out the volume and summary of responses to each consultation question. Of the 205 responses to question 2 on whether we should maintain the current requirement for a valid EPC with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation, 95 respondents said ‘yes’, 14 respondents did not answer and 96 respondents said ‘no’ meaning just over 50% agreed with the removal of the requirement.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of using transport and storage companies for the development of provisional cluster expansion plans for Track-2 carbon capture, usage and storage on the timely roll-out of the projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The CCUS Track-2 December 2023 Market Update set out government’s proposed Track-2 approach of an ‘anchor’ and ‘buildout’ phase; this embedded learnings from the CCUS Track-1 process. The Track-2 process aims to establish clusters at pace and provide a platform for flexibility and innovation in future phases, as well as to carry out transport and storage sizing.
At ‘anchor’ phase, Acorn and Viking will be invited to submit plans for initial capture projects, as well as a provisional expansion plan for the ‘buildout’ phase. The format of the buildout rounds will be announced in due course and may be subject to factors including project pool maturity and progress against our Net Zero and Energy Security objectives.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 carried out a cost benefit analysis for hydrogen fuel cells using deoxygenated air as a fire extinguisher; and whether sufficient fuel cells could be produced domestically.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Although I am not aware of any work on this in the department, a 2001 study by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency indicated that deoxygenated air would be a less effective extinguisher than other extinguishing agents, although neither a detailed cost benefit analysis, nor an environmental impact assessment, were performed.
The UK has a robust fuel cell manufacturing industry, supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre which is joint funded by the Government and the automative industry, so would be well positioned to take advantage of developments in fuel cell technology.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help support people who require entry to a neighbour's property for the purpose of recording their energy meter readings.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Rights of entry are governed by civil law, not energy policy or regulation. Energy suppliers have limited rights of entry to fit, fix and read meters. Whether an individual or energy supplier is able to enter a property which is not the home of the customer is a matter of civil law. Householders can seek advice from organisations such as Citizens Advice.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the level of competition in the fuel distribution services industry.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are multiple companies involved in the distribution of both transport and heating fuels to petrol forecourts and end-user premises.
For road fuels, there are at least 11 significant haulage companies distributing fuels to petrol forecourts. The Competition and Markets Authority 2023 market study ‘Supply of road fuel in the United Kingdom’ did not identify issues with competition in the distribution of fuels.
For heating oils, there are commercial price comparison sites allowing households to find the best value for money. The industry estimates that most households in mainland Britain will have at least four different distribution companies with depots within 25 miles.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to respond to the consultation entitled Empowering drivers and boosting competition in the road fuel retail market, published on 16 January 2024.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The consultation ‘Empowering drivers and boosting competition in the road fuel retail market’ closed on 12 March 2024. We are currently analysing and considering the consultation responses received and will publish the government response shortly.