Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Helen Hayes and Amber Rudd
Amber Rudd
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the renewables target for 2020 covers building, heat, transport and electricity. The renewable heat incentive is a key part of that. That is why we have had the consultation. We will now examine those responses in order to ensure that we direct the funds that we have in the most effective way. We recognise that although we have made good progress towards the renewables target for 2020, there is more work to do. We believe that we have sufficient policies to address the need, but we are going to look at what else can be done, particularly in respect of buildings and transport, to make more progress from the halfway mark that we have reached so far.
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
13. What assessment she has made of trends in the level of take-up of domestic solar photovoltaic systems since the relaunch of the feed-in tariff in February 2016.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Helen Hayes and Amber Rudd(9 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
This week I had a meeting with Sustainable Energy 24, a community benefit society established to deliver solar panels on public and community buildings in my constituency. It told me, in relation to the cut in the feed-in tariff and the ending of pre-accreditation:
“It is hard to see how any community energy group can continue on this basis.”
Can the Secretary of State tell me why the impact on community energy companies was not considered ahead of the consultation and provide reassurances that the consultation response will address that very important issue?
Amber Rudd
I can assure the hon. Lady that community energy is a very important part of our energy sources. We have already contributed £25 million to supporting community energy projects. We will look carefully at the impact on community energy while working out what is the right price to support solar while looking after bill-payers at the same time.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Helen Hayes and Amber Rudd
Amber Rudd
I thank my hon. Friend for that question and, indeed, for the visit, when we saw an excellent example of industry and finance coming together to promote different innovations in this area. I would be delighted to hear more about progress that the initiative has made, because the fascinating thing about this whole area of energy use and development is that it is so fast-changing, and we need to make sure that we access all the innovations we can in order to deliver.
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
T5. There is a huge opportunity to increase renewable energy production and save public money by installing solar panels on public buildings such as schools. This has the added benefit of providing an opportunity for children to learn about climate change and to see at first hand how it can be addressed. Given the up-front cost of installation at a time when school budgets are already under pressure, what additional assistance can the Secretary of State provide to make it easier for schools and communities to generate their own clean energy?
Amber Rudd
I share the hon. Lady’s view. Having solar on schools is a fantastic way for young people to understand that energy can be collected from the sun, and they can link that closely to what they do in school. We in the Department are very keen to find ways to enable schools to do this. People will hear more from the Government very soon about the use of solar specifically on public buildings and on schools.