Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department’s published estimates of levelized cost of electricity generation, which formulae are used to model (a) the decline of an individual windfarm's output and (b) the change in an individual windfarm's annual operating costs over its operational lifetime.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Currently the Government does not model degradation of wind turbine output nor changes in operating costs with time, but instead uses lifetime average values to calculate mean levelised cost of electricity.[1]
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the review of the scientific evidence on shale gas extraction submitted to his Department by the British Geological Survey on 5 July 2022, when he plans to announce his Department's future shale gas policy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 6 July 2022 to Question 28901.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the British Geological Survey's short report on shale gas fracturing and the modelling of seismic activity in shale rocks in the UK, as commissioned in his letter dated 5 April 2022, if he will publish the criteria for revising the seismicity limits that apply to shale gas extraction.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In 2019, the Government confirmed that the pause on the exploration of shale gas reserves in England would remain in place unless and until further evidence was provided that shale gas extraction could be carried out safely. Any exploration or development of shale gas would need to meet rigorous safety and environmental protections both above ground and sub-surface.
The Government has commissioned the British Geological Survey to advise on the latest scientific evidence around shale gas extraction. Unless the latest scientific evidence demonstrates that shale gas extraction is safe, sustainable and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby, the pause in England will remain in place.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate an expansion of the UK's gas storage facilities in advance of winter 2022-23.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The diversity of Great Britain’s sources of gas supply obviates a reliance on natural gas storage. This distinguishes Great Britain from some European countries which have a relative larger storage capacity than Great Britain.
The Government is continuing to explore the future of the gas storage landscape, including in relation to hydrogen. The UK Hydrogen Strategy considers the role of hydrogen storage in greater detail and whether further regulation or support mechanisms are needed to maximise its potential.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the British Geological Survey's short report on shale gas extraction commissioned by his Department, if he will publish the criteria for lifting the moratorium on shale gas extraction.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The recent request to the British Geological Survey has been made to assess if any progress has been made in the scientific understanding which underpins government policy on hydraulic fracturing.
The Government has always been clear that the exploration of shale gas reserves in England could only proceed if the science shows that it is safe, sustainable and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby. The request to the British Geological Survey does not indicate a change to government policy.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the UK electricity demand in 2050; what forecast his Department has made of the composition of the energy source supplying that demand.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Annex O of the Government’s Energy and Emission Projections provides four indicative 2050 scenarios for the power sector: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-and-emissions-projections. These have two levels of demand (higher and lower) and show capacity mixes that could meet this demand, while ensuring emissions fall in line with legislated ambition and costs to consumers are minimised.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason (a) the name of a limited partnership cannot be re-used, after dissolution and removal from Companies House register and (b) that restriction does not apply to limited liability partnerships and limited companies.
Answered by Paul Scully
The legislation on Limited Partnerships does not prevent a Limited Partnership’s name from being re-used after dissolution as the rules that prevent duplicate company or LLP names do not apply to LPs.
The Government is committing to reforming the legislation on limited partnerships; this will include proposals that will bring the rules on the names of limited partnerships in line with those for limited liability partnerships and limited companies.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been released under the Green Home Grants Local Authority Delivery Scheme to listed buildings.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
BEIS does not hold data on the number of listed homes upgraded. Reporting focuses on the number of properties upgraded and measures installed rather than property characteristics.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2021 to Question 182074 on the Green Homes Grant Scheme, what policies his Department plans to implement to decarbonise the heating of listed buildings where low carbon options are economically unviable or prohibited by planning law.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to the response to Question 182074 of 21 April 2021, the Government recognises that some households, including those living in listed buildings, may need additional support to decarbonise, particularly if they are on a lower income or vulnerable. The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings.
The Government is putting affordability and fairness at the heart of our reforms. We will continue support to lower income households and the vulnerable to make homes greener, through schemes such as the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). HUG will provide energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating to low-income households living off the gas grid in England to tackle fuel poverty and meet net zero. An initial £150m was allocated to HUG in the 2020 spending review and will be delivered alongside a £200m third tranche of Local Authority Delivery (LAD) as a £350m Sustainable Warmth competition, which was launched on 16 June, with delivery expected to run from early 2022 to March 2023. The ECO, worth £640m per year, is already supporting low income and vulnerable households with energy efficiency and heating measures. The next iteration of ECO will run from 2022 to 2026 with an increase in value from £640m to £1bn per year.
The Government will also be launching the Clean Heat Grant from 2022 to 2024. The scheme will support homes to transition from high carbon fossil fuel heating sources to low carbon heating , such as heat pumps or alternatives including biomass boilers where heat pumps are unsuitable.
Additionally, property owners may consult the Simple Energy Advice (SEA) service, and a retrofit coordinator for further advice and information on improving their building’s energy performance.
Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to replace the Green Homes Grant scheme; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that listed property owners benefit from a successor scheme.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government will be expanding its funding commitment in financial year 21/22 for both the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme (LAD) with £300 million of new funding.
Furthermore, £150m has already been committed to the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG), intended to support low-income households by upgrading the worst-performing off-gas-grid homes in England.
Design guidance for a further phase of LAD, and both the HUG and SHDF schemes is currently being developed. A wide range of possibilities will be examined to ensure successful delivery of the funds, through schemes which efficiently complement each other, with delivery extending into 2023.