Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of electricity the UK will need per day by 2050.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Annex O of the Energy and Emission Projections presents indicative annual generation data out to 2050 for higher and lower demand scenarios. In these scenarios the UK will need an average of 1.5 to 2.1 TWh of electricity per day in 2050.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect new nuclear power generating capacity to come online in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The target date for commercial operations of reactor 1 at Hinkley Point C (HPC) is 1 June 2027. In order to achieve the up to 24GW deployment pathway by 2050, as set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government intends to take one project to Final Investment Decision (FID) this Parliament and two projects to FID in the next Parliament, including Small Modular Reactors.
The Government is in constructive, ongoing negotiations on the Sizewell C project, which would be a replica of HPC. As announced in the Autumn Statement, subject to final approvals, the Government intends to support further development of the project, with an investment of £700m.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work they are undertaking, if any, on converting carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methanol.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is supporting innovation in the synthesis of methanol from low-carbon hydrogen through the UKRI Hydrogen and alternative energy vectors innovation programme.
Where transport fuels are produced by converting carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methanol using renewable inputs, they are eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The RTFO is a certificate trading scheme that has been successful in reducing carbon emissions from road transport since 2008 through incentivising the use and production of low carbon fuels.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of geothermal energy providing part of future UK energy needs.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The most promising use of geothermal energy in the UK is for heat applications. The Government is supporting the North East Local Energy Partnership to commission a research report to provide an evidence-based assessment of existing and future geothermal potential for heat in the UK. This work is also part funded by the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. The British Geological Society will be undertaking this work with the engineering consultancy Arup. This builds on UKRI funding to develop the UK Geoenergy Observatories, which aim to inform how geoenergy can help to deliver clean economic growth.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what activities they are undertaking to support precision and reliability of atmospheric observation to improve weather forecasting.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Observations are an essential input in the production of weather forecasts. The Met Office utilises a comprehensive range of state of the art observing systems that fulfil a carefully prioritised set of requirements for measuring the atmosphere. These include satellites, weather radars, deep ocean buoys, radiosonde systems and land based observing stations across the UK and beyond. They are designed to meet detailed, internationally agreed performance standards and monitoring and incident management processes are in place to ensure compliance. The Met Office also has an ongoing research and development programme to exploit new technologies and deliver further enhancements to observations.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop wind farms in the Irish Sea.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Three large offshore windfarms, totalling 3.48GW, are currently being developed in the Irish Sea. BP and EnBW are developing the Morgan (1.5GW) and Mona (1.5GW) projects. Cobra and Flotation Energy are developing the Morecambe (0.48GW) project.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the results of the Grocery Code Adjudicator Survey 2022, published on 9 June.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has noted the results of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022 Groceries Sector Survey and encourages suppliers to raise concerns about non-compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, in confidence, with the GCA.
The results of the survey will also be used to help to inform the third statutory review of the GCA, along with stakeholder responses to a consultation the Government will issue in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the latest case for the development of a tidal lagoon to generate energy in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy in the bays and estuaries around the UK’s coastlines, including barrage schemes and other alternatives. Any proposal would need to demonstrate strong evidence of value for money before the Government could take a view on its potential.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support wind turbine construction in England.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has 11.3GW of offshore wind installed with a further 9.1GW in construction. The Government has a target of 40GW by 2030, including 1GW of floating wind. The fourth Contract for Difference Allocation Round is currently open and will bring forward new projects.
As set out in the Net Zero strategy, the Government is providing £380 million for the UK’s world leading offshore wind sector, investing in supply chains, infrastructure and early co-ordination of offshore transmission networks, securing jobs and benefitting communities across the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support solar panel construction in England.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government supports UK-based innovation in solar power through various innovation schemes, including the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. The Government is also working with the solar industry to support the development of the UK supply chain. One of the best ways the government has supported the solar industry is overseeing its robust roll-out; 99% of the UK’s solar capacity has been rolled out since 2010.