Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) the number of contracts for imports of US Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and (b) LNG import infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Liquified natural gas (LNG) is bought and sold on the global market by commercial organisations and, as such, the government does not play a role in securing or assessing contracts. The government works closely with the gas system operator and is confident that they have the tools they need to effectively balance supply and demand in a wide range of scenarios, as they have done in previous years.
The government annually reviews the availability of gas for meeting the reasonable demands of consumers in Great Britain (GB), considering the short and long-term, through the Statutory Security of Supply Report. This includes an assessment of the adequacy of LNG import infrastructure, and notes that GB will continue to benefit from a diverse set of import routes and the second largest LNG import infrastructure capacity in Europe.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish the (a) start date, (b) end date, (c) annual gas volume, (d) contract value, (e) supplying country, (f) supplying company and (g) importing company of contracts for the import of gas to the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This is not information the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero owns.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policy on LNG imports to the UK of the report entitled Energy, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of U.S. LNG Exports, published in 2024 by the US Department of Energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is aware of the report published in 2024 by the US Department of Energy. DESNZ monitors developments in the global Liquified Natural Gas market closely and considers a wide range of sources in doing so. The USA is, and will continue to be, an important supplier of LNG for the UK.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing local supply rights for community energy schemes to sell clean power locally.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department is considering a range of reforms to unlock renewable investment and pass through the benefits of cheaper renewables to consumers. This includes potential changes to support local and community energy.
The Secretary of State previously commissioned Ofgem to explore policy and regulatory barriers to local supply, including route to market challenges. We are also learning from the responses to the Call for Evidence on barriers to community energy [1], which referenced local supply issues.
The Department continues to work with Ofgem and key stakeholders to enhance our community energy offer. We will set out further detail in due course.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/barriers-to-community-energy-projects
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will publish the evidential basis informing the decision to fund carbon capture, usage and storage clusters announced on 4 October 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Department plans to release the Full Business Cases (FBCs) for the two clusters next year, in line with the requirements for programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 risks of investing in carbon capture storage technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Department has developed a risk management approach for monitoring the risks associated with investing in CCS technology. This approach follows government best practice and has been reviewed and approved by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s major projects gateway process. The Department has documented the material risks within the Full Business Cases for the two clusters. These FBCs have been reviewed and approved by the departmental investment committee and Major Projects Review Group, reflecting the fact that these bodies are satisfied that the programme’s approach to risk management is robust, and that the overall risk profile of the projects is consistent with the Department’s stated risk appetite.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofgem on setting a timeline to bring heat network pricing in line with prices paid by other consumers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in my department have been working closely with Ofgem, ahead of the third and final, joint consultation on proposals for heat network regulation. This will include proposals on fair pricing. This consultation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 press notice entitled Government reignites industrial heartlands 10 days out from the International Investment Summit, published on 4 October 2024, if he will publish a list of climate scientists consulted with by his Department on the efficacy of carbon capture storage.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, has said that CCUS is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for the transition to net zero. The International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both conclude that carbon capture can play a key role in decarbonisation.
The Government engages with a range of stakeholders during the policy development process.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent public consultation his Department has undertaken on the efficacy of carbon capture, usage and storage technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, has said that CCUS is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for the transition to net zero. The International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both conclude that carbon capture can play a key role in decarbonisation.
The Government engages with a range of stakeholders during the policy development process.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to monitor the (a) carbon emissions and (b) water usage of data centres.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
(a) Emissions from data centres that occur in the UK - either directly at their locations or at power stations from their electricity use - are included in our published UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions totals, but cannot be attributed to specific data centres.
Data centres that are part of a quoted company, large unquoted company or large limited liability partnership are required to report on their emissions in their annual reports to comply with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy.
(b) Water usage and its monitoring is overseen by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.