Energy Costs for Businesses

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, that is not how I recognise our energy policy. The noble Lord will have seen our action plan towards clean power, published at the end of last week, which sets out how we intend comprehensively to move towards clean power by 2030. I just say to the noble Lord that the highest price that businesses paid for electricity was in 2023, under the Government in which he was a member. What that shows is that, if we remain dependent on the volatility of international fossil-fuel prices, we will always be vulnerable to the kinds of spikes we have seen. That is why we need clean power and homegrown energy.

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

My Lords, the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan is clear, on page 81, that nuclear power has a role to play in achieving clean power by 2030. Will my noble friend the Minister give a little more detail on what the Government are doing to support the development of the technology around small modular reactors, so that they can eventually be built in this country, support British jobs and reduce costs for businesses?

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, my noble friend is right to explore the contribution that nuclear will play in the lead up to 2030, but of course beyond, which is why we have the building of Hinkley Point C, then Sizewell C when we get to a financial investment decision next year, then the SMR programme and then the AMR programme. As far as small modular reactors are concerned, Great British Nuclear is conducting a technology exercise at the moment; it is in financial discussions with four of the companies concerned. We will come to the issue of spend and public support in the multiyear spending review that is taking place over the next few months.

Domestic Solar Panels

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

I think the Lord will recollect that he asked me rather a lot of questions and, given that my winding-up speech was 20 minutes, with the best will in the world, I said that I would write to him. On the general principle, he knows that I have long shared his concern, particularly about Xinjiang province and the appalling use of the Uighurs. We understand those issues and are committed to tackling them. We have given guidance on the risk to business of trading in Xinjiang province, and we have pointed out the penalties for those who fail to report under the Modern Slavery Act. The noble Lord will find an invitation to meet in the next two days to discuss those issues.

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

My Lords, further to that point, does my noble friend the Minister agree that one of the keys to tackling this issue, especially in terms of exploitation in other countries, is to ensure that solar panels are built in this country and that our industrial strategy matches up with the energy strategy and Great British Energy to make that happen? Can he assure us that he is focused on that?

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, that is a very interesting point put forward by my noble friend. One of the responsibilities of the Solar Taskforce is to look at the supply chain, and we will pick up the issue that she mentioned. It is also worth pointing out that if we look at where the content comes from in relation to placing solar panels on a roof, it is reckoned that 60% of the value of the work—including scaffolding and whatever else has to happen—is bought in this country.

Great British Energy Bill

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 18th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford, who demonstrated his long-standing interest and expertise in this area.

It was also a huge privilege and pleasure to have been here for the maiden speech of my noble friend Lady Beckett. Her speech demonstrated once again why she is such a towering figure in the Labour movement. My noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton expressed perfectly why we are so lucky in your Lordships’ House to be able to benefit from my noble friend’s experience and wisdom. I add my own thanks to her for all the kindness she has shown to me and the advice she has given me over the many years that I have known her. I am sure I speak for many Members of this House, not least those who came from the House of Commons, when I say that.

[Noble Lords]

Hear, hear.

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

I welcome the Bill, not only because it fulfils one of the Government’s manifesto commitments to establish the first new, national, publicly owned energy company in our country for more than 75 years but because it is a key plank in our commitment to reach net zero. The company, as legislated for in the Bill, has the potential to contribute to the UK’s energy independence and climate goals, create good jobs directly and through its supply chains, support pathways for the oil and gas workforce, and deliver long-term revenue streams for the public.

Of course, state ownership of UK energy assets is already widespread, especially offshore wind, but the unfortunate fact is that it is state ownership by the Governments of France, Denmark, Sweden and Norway rather than the UK. Today, more offshore wind is owned by the city of Munich than by the UK public. Surely if it is right for the Danish, French, Swedish and Norwegian publics to own our offshore wind and clear energy, the British public deserve a stake as well.

I believe that GB Energy will make us stronger in an insecure world and provide us with a national energy champion. However, it is essential that GB Energy has a sharp focus on creating quality jobs, both directly and through its supply chain. At the moment, while the UK has installed more offshore wind than any other country but China, we lag far behind European countries, including Denmark, Germany and Spain, in terms of supply-chain and job creation. That has to change. China has begun manufacturing cheaper and bigger offshore wind turbines, and we cannot let a situation develop where we become as dependent on China for offshore wind turbines as we are today for solar panels.

If we do not see GB Energy playing a key role in delivering the Government’s industrial strategy, we risk a backlash to the clean energy transition, as touched on by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, so we need GB Energy to have a strategy that includes long-term proactive commitments, underwriting demand, and using its procurement powers so it can build up the UK supply chain and deliver a just transition pathway for North Sea oil and gas workers.

My noble friend the Minister may be aware, for example, of the proposal for a small modular reactor national manufacturing centre of excellence, which would present a British high-value manufacturing industry-led approach to deliver an SMR, the first of its kind here in the UK and, as it happens, would be based in South Yorkshire. I hope my noble friend the Minister will agree that this is exactly the type of UK-based manufacturing that the Government and GB Energy should be supporting.

As my noble friend the Minister said in opening, the GBE founding statement said that the company’s mission would be

“to drive clean energy deployment, boost energy independence, create jobs”.

Will my noble friend the Minister consider the point being made by the TUC that we should strengthen the Bill by adding a requirement, perhaps to the objectives in Clause 3, that Great British Energy contribute to the UK’s commitments to a just transition and to the creation and maintenance of quality jobs, so that this commitment is actually enshrined in legislation? GB Energy needs to look across all areas, including wind turbines, small nuclear reactors, solar and clean hydrogen power. It should be clear about how companies can access funding through GB Energy’s £8.3 billion capitalisation.

My noble friend the Minister referred to carbon capture and storage in opening. I am sure he will be aware of the concern of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association that the Bill defines clean energy primarily as energy produced from non-fossil fuel sources. This could inadvertently restrict investments by GBE in technologies such as carbon capture and storage, reduce the potential for public/private projects, as the noble Lord, Lord Howell, referred to, and hinder the UK’s ability to meet net-zero targets. My noble friend Lady Liddell has also raised this issue, and she is in her place today. I hope the Minister will be able to comment on these concerns in his closing remarks.

This has been an extremely interesting debate so far. I am looking forward to hearing the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Mackinlay of Richborough. I see that by his side he has the noble Baroness, Lady Laing of Elderslie. I do not know if this is unparliamentary language, but she was my “old mucker” in the Commons, when she was Chairman of Ways and Means and I was First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. We enjoyed lively exchanges at times with the noble Lord, Lord Mackinlay. I want to say how much I admire his bravery—I know many here do—in overcoming so many obstacles, which is epitomised by him being here today. I look forward to his speech and to hearing my noble friend the Minister’s response to the points made on this very welcome Bill.