Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Robathan and Matt Hancock

Thursday 5th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Robathan (South Leicestershire) (Con)]

2. What estimate he has made of the proportion of electricity demand that will be met by renewable energy in 2015 compared with 2010.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Matthew Hancock)]

We have doubled the amount of renewable energy from 6.8% of electricity in 2010 to more than 14% of electricity generation.

[Mr Robathan]

So it is true: this is the greenest Government ever. Will my right hon. Friend tell us what proportion of that electricity is generated by onshore wind? Can he confirm that onshore wind is the most mature, least expensive, and most efficient form of renewable energy, and is actually pretty popular?

[Matthew Hancock]

A high proportion of electricity is from onshore wind, but there is also solar—one million people now live in households with solar panels on their roofs—and offshore wind, which plays an important role. We will continue to have a strong energy mix, with a strong performance from renewables, to ensure that we deliver on our pledge, which we are committed to and are fulfilling, to be the greenest Government ever.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Robathan and Matt Hancock

Thursday 4th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

As I said, we have given more local control in the planning system, as well as changing the subsidy regime so that onshore wind would have to be competitive, for instance, against solar. As the costs of solar fall, it is increasingly able to compete for that subsidy. This is about getting the best possible value for money out of the subsidy but also ensuring that local people have a say in the planning system. I know some of the sites that my hon. Friend is talking about—indeed, I visited, or rather went past, one of the developments last month—so I know of the local concern in his constituency. We have to make sure that in future local people have more of a say, and we are doing that.

[Mr Andrew Robathan (South Leicestershire) (Con)]

We should be very proud of the investment in renewable energy and the progress that has been made over the past four years, making this the greenest Government ever, to coin a phrase. The current policy of reducing the subsidies is absolutely sensible. However, may I gently say that sometimes those who make the most noise are a very vocal minority? My experience in my constituency is that a very few vocal people oppose wind farms whereas most people say, “Actually, not only do we not mind them, we quite like them.”

[Matthew Hancock]

Where local people not only do not mind local wind farms but quite like them, and the local council decides that that is their democratic decision, giving them more power over the placement of local turbines is the right approach. This is about making sure that we have support locally.