Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 ensure that EDF contribute to infrastructure improvements in East Suffolk prior to the building of Sizewell C.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any application for development consent for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear generating station will need to consider the potential impacts of the proposal and any mitigations that might be put forward by the developer to address or minimise those impacts to an acceptable level. The question of the appropriateness and acceptability in planning terms of any proposed mitigations will be tested during a public examination conducted by the Planning Inspectorate which will submit a report of its findings to my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
In taking the decision on whether development consent should be granted for the project, the Secretary of State will follow the relevant requirements in the Planning Act 2008 and have regard to any matters which are important and relevant. In the event that consent was granted, any mitigation which the Secretary of State considered necessary before construction started would be included as a requirement in the development consent order.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 support the development of Sizewell C nuclear power station.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Government regularly engages with developers on a range of issues relevant to delivering new nuclear projects, including the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station.
As my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stated to Parliament on 4 June 2018, we will be reviewing the viability of a regulated asset base model as a sustainable funding model, based on private finance for future new nuclear projects beyond Wylfa, that could deliver the Government’s objectives of value for money, fiscal responsibility and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to develop electricity grid connections with countries in continental Europe.
Answered by Claire Perry
Great Britain currently has 3GW of interconnection capacity to continental Europe, via links to France and the Netherlands.
There is 4.4GW of new interconnector capacity under construction, which will increase our capacity to France and add connections to Belgium and Norway. In addition, there are further projects that have been given regulatory approval or are in the process of applying for regulatory approval, which could add another 9GW of capacity, but these are at an earlier stage of development.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to support the development of renewable energy schemes.
Answered by Claire Perry
On 23 July we announced that the next auction in the Contract for Difference support scheme for renewable electricity generation will open by May next year, and that we plan to set out the parameters of the auction later this year. I also announced our intention to run subsequent auctions around every two years after that.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government has taken to support the oil heating industry in their work to develop a low carbon liquid fuel alternative to kerosene.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government is supportive of the development of low carbon bioliquids as part of our commitment to growing the UK's bioeconomy. For instance, the Department has funded innovation on bioliquid technologies, targeting applications such as low-carbon transport fuels.
In the Clean Growth Strategy, Government committed to phase out high-carbon fossil fuels such as oil for heating, which will create a market for alternatives. Beyond the Renewable Heat Incentive, which has funding agreed out to 2021, the Department intends to design and implement a clear framework through to the 2030s for domestic and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid. Bioliquids may be of interest in this transition, and the Department sought further evidence from the public in a Call for Evidence which ran from 19 March to 11 June 2018. The Department is now analysing the evidence received and aims to publish a response to the Call for Evidence later in 2018. We have engaged with the oil heating industry throughout this process and will continue to do so, in line with broader Government priorities on delivering clean air.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 Public Accounts Committee report on renewable heat incentive in Great Britain published on 16 May 2018, what steps his Department is taking to identify low cost heat alternatives for off-grid homes.
Answered by Claire Perry
Decarbonising heat in buildings, making buildings more energy efficient, and identifying cost-effective fossil fuel alternatives for off-grid homes, is a priority for this Government. The Clean Growth Grand Challenge of our modern Industrial Strategy aims to maximise the advantages from the global shift to clean growth for UK industry. In May, the Prime Minister announced the first mission of the Grand Challenge, to halve the energy used in new buildings by 2030, and reduce the costs of energy efficiency measures in existing buildings. This complements the Clean Growth Strategy, where we have committed to phasing out high carbon heating, by 2030, starting with new build. Off-grid homes are key to making these policies a success.
The Public Accounts Committee report on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in Great Britain identified that the higher upfront costs of low carbon technologies could be a barrier to participating in the RHI scheme. In response, the Department introduced new regulations, which came into force on 27 June 2018, allowing householders to assign their right to RHI payments to a third party that has paid for all, or part, of their renewable heating system.
Beyond the RHI, which has funding agreed out to 2021, the Department intends to design and implement a clear framework through to the 2030s for domestic and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid. From 19 March to 11 June 2018 we held a public Call for Evidence as a first step in developing this policy framework. The Department is now analysing the evidence received in response to this document and aims to publish a response to the Call for Evidence later in 2018.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many geothermal power schemes have been funded through the government's renewable heat incentive.
Answered by Claire Perry
To date, no geothermal heat installations have been accredited through the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. However, the first preliminary application for a geothermal heat installation was submitted in April 2018.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money was paid by the Government to (a) electricity transmission, (b) electricity distribution and (c) gas distribution companies in each of the last four years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Great Britain’s electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks are operated by private companies regulated by the independent energy regulator Ofgem in order to ensure that they deliver a safe, reliable network whilst investing for the future and providing value for money for customers.
The regulation process, including the setting of price controls which determines revenue allowances for network companies, is a matter for Ofgem and, by law, must be carried out independently of Government.
Ofgem estimates that the design of the current price control (which started in 2013 for electricity transmission and gas distribution and 2015 for electricity distribution), together with voluntary returns by network companies, is expected to secure additional savings of £4.5bn for consumers during the course of the price control. Ofgem is continuing to engage with network companies to identify further savings and has warned them to prepare for tougher price controls in the future.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money has been returned to Government by the electricity transmission, electricity distribution and gas distribution companies in each of the last four years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Great Britain’s electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks are operated by private companies regulated by the independent energy regulator Ofgem in order to ensure that they deliver a safe, reliable network whilst investing for the future and providing value for money for customers.
The regulation process, including the setting of price controls which determines revenue allowances for network companies, is a matter for Ofgem and, by law, must be carried out independently of Government.
Ofgem estimates that the design of the current price control (which started in 2013 for electricity transmission and gas distribution and 2015 for electricity distribution), together with voluntary returns by network companies, is expected to secure additional savings of £4.5bn for consumers during the course of the price control. Ofgem is continuing to engage with network companies to identify further savings and has warned them to prepare for tougher price controls in the future.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money has been returned to consumers by (a) electricity transmission, (b) electricity distribution and (c) gas distribution companies in each of the last four years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Great Britain’s electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks are operated by private companies regulated by the independent energy regulator Ofgem in order to ensure that they deliver a safe, reliable network whilst investing for the future and providing value for money for customers.
The regulation process, including the setting of price controls which determines revenue allowances for network companies, is a matter for Ofgem and, by law, must be carried out independently of Government.
Ofgem estimates that the design of the current price control (which started in 2013 for electricity transmission and gas distribution and 2015 for electricity distribution), together with voluntary returns by network companies, is expected to secure additional savings of £4.5bn for consumers during the course of the price control. Ofgem is continuing to engage with network companies to identify further savings and has warned them to prepare for tougher price controls in the future.