Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to ADE Heat Networks' report "Clean Heat 2040", what plans he has to mandate that industrial plants and data centres make their surplus heat available for district heating networks.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Heat Network zoning equips communities and local government with the tools to accelerate the development of low carbon heat networks and ensure that more homes and businesses can have access to greener, cheaper heat.
Through heat network zoning, certain types of buildings and heat sources can be required to connect to a network within a prescribed timeframe. This will allow for large-scale strategic heat networks to be built in towns and cities across the country.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to ADE: Heat Networks report entitled Clean Heat 2040 report, whether he plans to rebalance energy policy costs for heat networks away from electricity bills.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government recognises that high electricity prices are a significant pressure on industry and a barrier to investment and growth. We are continuing to develop further policies to bring down electricity costs relative to gas, and intend to consult on options to reduce costs and make electrification an economically rational choice for a wider range of businesses and organisations.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to ADE Heat Networks' report "Clean Heat 2040" what assessment his Department has made of the case for extending to heat networks the same long-term revenue support mechanisms that are already provided to nuclear power and carbon capture projects.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government recognises the conclusion of the report that electricity prices are a significant pressure on the heat network industry and a barrier to investment and growth. We intend to consult on options to reduce costs, provide longer-term certainty and make electrification an economically rational choice for a wider range of businesses including heat networks.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help support off-grid rural communities dependent on heating oil as part of a transition to a renewable energy system.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The £15 billion Warm Homes Plan includes an offer for everyone, including those living in rural areas and off the gas grid. The Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund support eligible households to upgrade their homes, with measures including insulation, solar, batteries, and heat pumps.
All eligible households in England and Wales can also benefit from the expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), funded with £2.7 billion to 2030. This will provide more options for homes where a hydronic heat pump may not be the most appropriate solution, including air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries.
Additionally, the Government has published a consultation on alternative heating solutions which explores the role these technologies could play in ensuring that every household has a suitable low-carbon option. The consultation closed on 10 February, and a government response will follow in due course.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of renewable energy deployment on long-term energy prices for domestic consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Prime Minister and the Government is committed to delivering clean power because it gives us energy security, protects households and businesses from global price shocks, helps tackle the climate crisis and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs across Britain.
The independent NESO set out pathways to a clean power system in 2030, and confirmed it was deliverable and more secure, and could see a lower electricity cost and bills.
We are delivering on our ambitious plan to move our electricity system to clean power that we control – reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels and protecting everyone from future price spikes.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of renewable energy deployment on energy price stability for domestic consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Prime Minister and the Government is committed to delivering clean power because it gives us energy security, protects households and businesses from global price shocks, helps tackle the climate crisis and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs across Britain.
The independent NESO set out pathways to a clean power system in 2030, and confirmed it was deliverable and more secure, and could see a lower electricity cost and bills.
We are delivering on our ambitious plan to move our electricity system to clean power that we control – reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels and protecting everyone from future price spikes.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to move off-grid rural communities dependent on heating oil to a renewable-based energy system.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The £15 billion Warm Homes Plan includes an offer for everyone, including those living in rural areas and off the gas grid. The Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund support eligible households to upgrade their homes, with measures including insulation, solar, batteries, and heat pumps.
All eligible households in England and Wales can also benefit from the expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), funded with £2.7 billion to 2030. This will provide more options for homes where a hydronic heat pump may not be the most appropriate solution, including air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries.
Additionally, the Government has published a consultation on alternative heating solutions which explores the role these technologies could play in ensuring that every household has a suitable low-carbon option. The consultation closed on 10 February, and a Government response will follow in due course.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to take further steps to support rural households in the context of volatility in global fossil fuel markets.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that families and businesses across the country will see the recent global events and once again be concerned about the impact on their energy costs. We are determined to fight the corner of all those affected by the rise in heating oil prices, and the Government recognises the significant pressures these increases place on households in rural communities.
The Prime Minister has been clear his number one domestic priority is helping families with the cost-of-living. To that end, the Government has announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices.
The Government continues to monitor the situation closely, and we are looking at what further support may be needed.
The measures taken in the Autumn Budget reduce the cost of electricity and therefore benefit all households with a domestic electricity meter, including those not on the gas grid. In addition, on 30 January, we announced the continuation of the Warm Home Discount scheme until 2030/31, providing around 6 million eligible households with the £150 rebate on their energy bills each winter.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will consider the potential merits of introducing additional measures to help protect rural households from volatility in international fossil fuel markets.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that families and businesses across the country will see the recent global events and once again be concerned about the impact on their energy costs. We are determined to fight the corner of all those affected by the rise in heating oil prices, and the Government recognises the significant pressures these increases place on households in rural communities.
The Prime Minister has been clear his number one domestic priority is helping families with the cost-of-living. To that end, the Government has announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices.
The Government continues to monitor the situation closely, and we are looking at what further support may be needed.
The measures taken in the Autumn Budget reduce the cost of electricity and therefore benefit all households with a domestic electricity meter, including those not on the gas grid. In addition, on 30 January, we announced the continuation of the Warm Home Discount scheme until 2030/31, providing around 6 million eligible households with the £150 rebate on their energy bills each winter.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to decouple the price of wholesale electricity from the cost of gas beyond moving more renewables into Contracts for Difference.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is determined to increase the share of renewables on the system so that the electricity price is set by cheaper clean power sources rather than gas. Every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we deploy helps push gas off as the price setter.
The Contracts for Difference scheme remains one of our most successful initiatives for doing this. However, this sits alongside other flagship renewable energy policies, including removing the ban on onshore wind within 72 hours of taking office, and the most significant programme of investment in homegrown clean energy in British history – with £61.9bn in capital funding committed in the Spending Review.