Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertake an environmental impact assessment on the proposed expansion of overhead power lines.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 22 October 2024, together with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, we commissioned NESO to produce the first ever Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), to support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure across Great Britain, including for overhead power lines. The SSEP will be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessment and take into account views of both rural and urban communities to ensure the impacts of infrastructure on local areas are properly considered.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to commission an up-to-date study of the comparative (1) cost and impact, and (2) feasibility and viability, of each type of infrastructure for conveying electricity.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Industry leads on innovation in the technologies and design of the infrastructure developed and delivered to meet our net zero targets. The Government does not currently plan to directly commission any new work.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government on the relative benefits of cable ploughing new power lines.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is aware of cable ploughing as a technique for installing some types of electricity cabling lines and is aware of the Welsh Government’s work into the merits of cable ploughing. The Government looks forward to engaging with the Welsh Government on the outcomes of that work.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative costs of undergrounding power lines by (1) cable ploughing, and (2) open trenching.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Undergrounding is usually by open trenching with costs varying between 5-10 times those of overhead lines. These costs are from the Institution of Engineering and Technology Study, 2012. Cable ploughing is a newer method of undergrounding some types of electricity cables. The Government has not made a formal assessment of those costs. The Government regularly engages with industry to understand new opportunities and innovations.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Callanan on 22 November that "it is up to 10 times more expensive" to bury power lines (HL Deb col 740), what evidence they have to support that conclusion.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The evidence to support the claim that underground lines can be up to 10 times more expensive than overhead lines comes from an independent 2012 report endorsed by the Institution of Engineering & Technology called “Electricity Transmission Costing Study”, which can be found at https://www.theiet.org/impact-society/factfiles/energy-factfiles/energy-generation-and-policy/electricity-transmission-costing/ (also attached).