Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what fiscal steps she is taking to ensure people switching to a heat pump are not financially penalised.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government increased Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant available for air source heat pumps (ASHP) by 50%. The £7,500 grant is available for both ASHP and ground source heat pumps, making it one of the most generous grant schemes of its kind in Europe. This is in addition to the 0% rate of VAT on the installation of heat pumps which is in place till March 2027.
BUS is part of a wider programme of measures supporting the deployment of heat pumps including the Home Upgrade Grant, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Energy Company Obligation Scheme.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with E3G on a clean heat discount scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to ensuring that the cost of transition to Net Zero is fair and affordable for all energy consumers. The potential impacts of rebalancing across technologies and consumers will be fully considered.
In ‘Powering Up Britain’, the Government committed to outlining a clear approach to price rebalancing by the end of 2023/24 and making significant progress affecting relative prices by the end of 2024. No decisions have yet been taken on that approach.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the viability of hydrogen as an industrial fuel.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Low carbon hydrogen is likely to be a leading option to decarbonise industrial processes that are harder or more expensive to electrify. We expect uptake of hydrogen via fuel switching of energy intensive sites, as well as those engaging in high temperature, direct-fired processes. Near-term opportunities for hydrogen conversion include high temperature steam boilers and combined heat and power (CHP) processes in sectors such as chemicals and refineries, especially in industrial clusters with early access to hydrogen.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure the UK has adequate supplies of green hydrogen to support industrial applications.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our ambition is for 10GW low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. In December we announced eleven major new hydrogen projects across the UK, and our Hydrogen Production Delivery Roadmap sets out proposals for annual allocation rounds from 2025 to 2030, helping to provide certainty for industry. To link up production and demand, we have announced our initial ambition for the first allocation rounds of the hydrogen transport and storage business models to be launched in 2024. This will support up to two storage projects at scale and associated regional pipeline infrastructure to be in operation or construction by 2030.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the level of demand for green hydrogen in industrial uses in (a) 2024, (b) 2028, (c) 2030, and (d) 2050.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the Hydrogen Transport and Storage Networks Pathway, our analysis suggests that by 2030, the potential demand for low carbon hydrogen as a fuel in UK industry (including industrial non-road mobile machinery) could be between 12-19 TWh. This could rise to 25-50 TWh by 2035, and 25-110 TWh by 2050.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much green hydrogen the UK will produce in (a) 2024, (b) 2028, (c) 2030 and (d) 2050.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen projects are delivered through our annual Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HARs). In December we announced HAR1 would support 125MW of production capacity across 11 projects. We aim to support up to 875MW through HAR2, giving up to 1GW green hydrogen production capacity in operation or construction by 2025. The level of production in each year will depend on the outcome of HARs, operational dates for projects and their individual operating patterns. We aim to have up to 6GW of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030, while by 2050 hydrogen could supply up to 35% of UK energy consumption.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 9113, if she will take steps to further extend the eligibility for the warm home discount to cover more disabled households.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales to standardise the criteria, provide the majority of rebates automatically, and focus the support to households in fuel poverty.
As the scheme is funded by participating energy suppliers, we have struck a balance between supporting as many households as possible, providing meaningful support, and limiting the impact on wider consumer bills. This winter we expect over 3 million households to receive the rebate, around a million more households compared with the previous scheme prior to winter 2022.
We recognise the cost-of-living challenges families are facing, which is why we are spending £104 billion supporting households with bills.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9112 on Fuel Poverty, if she will hold a public consultation as part of the review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of the review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy, Government will assess how the vulnerability principle has been implemented since 2021 and whether any amendments are needed for an updated Fuel Poverty strategy including for households where an occupant has a disability. Government has a statutory duty to consult relevant stakeholders before publishing an updated version of the Fuel Poverty Strategy. Government intends to seek views from a range of stakeholders, including disabilities charities. I have previously met with Scope, among other organisations, as part of an initial roundtable on reviewing the strategy.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9112 on Fuel Poverty, whether the review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy will consider energy costs for disabled people who use powered medical equipment at home.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of the review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy, Government will assess how the vulnerability principle has been implemented since 2021 and whether any amendments are needed for an updated Fuel Poverty strategy including for households where an occupant has a disability. Government has a statutory duty to consult relevant stakeholders before publishing an updated version of the Fuel Poverty Strategy. Government intends to seek views from a range of stakeholders, including disabilities charities. I have previously met with Scope, among other organisations, as part of an initial roundtable on reviewing the strategy.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9112 on Fuel Poverty, if she will hold discussions with disability charities on the review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of the review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy, Government will assess how the vulnerability principle has been implemented since 2021 and whether any amendments are needed for an updated Fuel Poverty strategy including for households where an occupant has a disability. Government has a statutory duty to consult relevant stakeholders before publishing an updated version of the Fuel Poverty Strategy. Government intends to seek views from a range of stakeholders, including disabilities charities. I have previously met with Scope, among other organisations, as part of an initial roundtable on reviewing the strategy.