Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislative proposals to require the solar industry to pay a standardised level of compensation to affected communities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it.
We are aware that solar and other renewable developers currently offer a range of community benefit schemes including providing funding for environmental enhancements, job schemes, energy discounts, and investment in local infrastructure such as faster broadband, EV charging points or energy efficiency measures.
Government does not currently have a formal role with regards to community benefits for solar.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the use of Uyghur forced labour in the supply chains of the solar industry.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. We will be working with colleagues across Government to tackle the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains.
We are also relaunching the Solar Taskforce, which will focus on identifying and taking forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour. This will support the significant increases in deployment of solar panels needed to meet our ambition of tripling the UKs solar power capacity by 2030.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department (a) monitors and (b) plans to monitor the (i) area, (ii) type by agricultural grade and (iii) geographical location of land proposed for solar development.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database. We plan to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by existing solar projects and those in the planning pipeline.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 22 July 2024 to Question 384 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter sets out the Secretary of State’s views on the adequacy of the measures in the Mallard Pass Solar Farm Outline Employment, Skills, and Supply Chain Plan (Clean) published on 19 September 2023 on the ethical sourcing of solar panels.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State’s conclusions are set out at paragraphs 4.107 and 4.109 of the Decision Letter.
It is important to note that the question for the Secretary of State was whether this issue was a relevant planning matter, which is a different question from whether, as Ministers agree, this is an important matter more broadly. The Decision Letter references other regulatory routes that are available to control the ethical and legal sourcing of solar panels.
Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions and the fact that a legal challenge to the decision could be made, Ministers cannot comment on this case beyond what is in the Decision Letter. This approach is set out in the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 22 July 2024 to Question 373 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter addresses the (a) ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development and (b) issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(a) The issue of ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development are set out in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.
(b) Issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the Examining Authority’s Report are considered in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Written Statement on Solar and protecting our Food Security and Best and Most Versatile (BMV) Land, published on 15 May 2024, HCWS466, whether it is his policy to retain the guidelines set out in that statement.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Written Ministerial Statement made in May by the previous government did not change the policy on this matter that is set out in the relevant parts of the National Policy Statement (NPS) for Renewable Energy and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It quoted extracts from that NPS and the NPPF. Decisions on solar that is Nationally Significant Infrastructure will be guided by the NPS in full, noting there are transitional provisions in place as the NPS was only designated this January. The NPPF will continue to be a material consideration for Local Authority planning decisions on solar.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Planning Inspectorate on the ethical sourcing of solar panels for solar developments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s planning decision on the Mallard Pass project are set out in the Decision Letter. Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions we are not able to give any further information at this stage, in line with the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the measures set out in the Mallard Pass Solar Farm Outline Employment, Skills and Supply Chain Plan (Clean) published on 19 September 2023 on the ethical sourcing of solar panels.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s planning decision on the Mallard Pass project are set out in the Decision Letter. Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions we are not able to give any further information at this stage, in line with the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 help encourage the development of onshore wind projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since 2010 there has been an almost fourfold increase in the volume of onshore wind, and the Government continues to incentivise and promote deployment. We have announced that there will be up to £120 million of funding available to support established renewable technologies such as onshore wind in the next Contracts for Difference auction. In England, the Government has also made changes to national planning policy to ensure local authorities can respond more flexibly to suitable opportunities for onshore wind while respecting the views of their local communities.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department plans to introduce a national monitoring system to track land being developed for ground mounted solar.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has no current plans to introduce such a system.