Drax Power Limited: Ofgem Investigation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Main Page: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
(2 days, 8 hours ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, first, it is not for Ministers to tell Ofgem how to regulate; we have to rely on its rigorous approach. Secondly, in the US and Canada, we depend on the rigorousness of the regulators locally. Ofgem’s job is to ensure that, as a whole, sustainability criteria are correct. I do not believe that it would be fair to say that Ofgem is not doing a thorough job. That is not my experience.
My Lords, it is clear that this Government know that what is coming from Drax is not renewable energy. At the moment, every single energy bill payer in Britain pays Drax for renewable energy. It is not renewable; the company emits 12 million tonnes of carbon a year. The Government know that and choose to allow international regulations to cover it up.
My Lords, I do not recognise what the noble Baroness says. It is true that Drax is an emitter of carbon but that is offset—netted off—by the new forestry growth that takes place and absorbs the carbon. This is not a fanciful notion by the Government; the International Energy Agency, the IPCC and the Committee on Climate Change all accept that biomass, as long as sustainability criteria are applied and accepted, is in that way a low-carbon renewable energy.