Energy Grid Resilience
Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Lord Berkeley(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness that the baseload that nuclear provides is very important indeed. She knows that we are rapidly approaching the final investment decision on Sizewell C, and the conclusion of the current work of Great British Nuclear in relation to small modular reactors. We are very keen to see the contribution of nuclear recognised. I agree with her that it provides an essential baseload to the system.
Lord Berkeley (Lab)
My Lords, one of the contributors to clean power, which the Government are quite rightly promoting, is solar panels on the roofs of new houses. I commend what the Government are trying to do, but has my noble friend not seen all the opposition from the housebuilders, who say it is too expensive, it will not work, it will make them fat and everything else? Will he keep going with this programme? It is local and very good and will give extra alternatives to all the other types of power that have been discussed this afternoon.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My noble friend will know that my colleagues in the MHCLG are discussing these matters at the moment. I, of course, very much understand the contribution that solar on rooftops can make. We are taking this forward and I am sure we will make announcements as soon as possible.
Transport Decarbonisation Plan
Debate between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Lord Berkeley(3 weeks ago)
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, I have not personally had a conversation with that company, but clearly the Government collectively are in earnest discussions with important motor manufacturers. On the question of energy prices, I say to the noble Lord that I very much regret his party’s retreat from net zero. The last thing that we need to do is fixate on fossil fuel. The international market in fossil fuel prices is vulnerable after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has caused the problem of high prices. We need to move as quickly as possible to clean power, because that is the way for stable pricing and the assurance that companies need.
Lord Berkeley (Lab)
My Lords, one of the ways of reducing the emissions from heavy goods vehicles is to use fewer of them and send the goods by rail. What is my noble friend’s Government doing about electrifying some of the rail network, which would enable much more freight to go by electrically hauled locomotives as rail freight and reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles still using diesel?
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, my noble friend makes an important point. As my noble friend Lord Hendy has referred to the House over the last few months, updated plans are being developed by Network Rail for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway system over the next 25 years. I should also say that the Government are supporting the development and deployment of battery technology through innovative trials, because this has application in relation to railways as well.