Energy White Paper

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very good point. We will invest in the growth of the UK’s renewable manufacturing base to stimulate the UK’s supply chain. We will also support the delivery of the industry’s target of 60% of UK content in offshore wind projects by 2030 through requiring developers that are awarded a contract for difference to honour the supply chain plan that they put forward. We will put the UK at the forefront of manufacturing for wind turbines and, to support this growing industry, we will invest £160 million in modern ports and manufacturing infrastructure, providing high-quality jobs in our coastal regions.

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, in welcoming this White Paper and its ambitious programme, I declare my interests as disclosed in the register.

Given that 30% of UK households do not have access to off-street parking and it will take significant investment to upgrade electric vehicle charging infrastructure to meet future demand, what plans do the Government have to invest in hydrogen-powered infrastructure that is likely to be much more accessible and sustainable? Would it not be sensible for Her Majesty’s Government to invest more in technologies that would allow them to leapfrog battery-driven technologies straight into green hydrogen ecosystems?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

Of course, huge amounts of money have been invested by both the Government and industry in the development of fuel cells, which are required for the use of hydrogen in vehicles. Again, I suspect that we will use a combination of technologies. Clearly, electric vehicles will have a huge role to play but, if fuel cell technology advances and the costs of hydrogen production come down, we will hopefully be able to have more vehicles powered by hydrogen as well.