Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 potential threat posed by hostile drones to critical national energy infrastructure, including gas terminals.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It would not be appropriate to comment on specific threat assessments, for security reasons. However, security and resilience arrangements are kept under regular review to ensure they remain effective against a changing threat environment.
DESNZ works extensively with the National Protective Security Authority, the energy industry, regulators and other stakeholders, including the Home Office and MOD, to continually improve and maintain the security and resilience of energy infrastructure to a wide range of hazards and threats.
Security arrangements at gas infrastructure sites, including gas terminals, are determined on the basis of risk and threat, and proportionate measures are taken to mitigate unauthorised drone activity. This is informed by National Protective Security Authority guidance and compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken to confirm hydrogen transport and storage funding on private investment in hydrogen production.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hydrogen can help reindustrialise Britain by cutting emissions from heavy industry and providing clean power, helping to maintain our manufacturing base, and create new clean energy industries and skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands.
We understand the importance of providing clarity to businesses across the hydrogen sector and we are regularly engaging with industry to understand their proposals relating to hydrogen infrastructure.
We recognise the importance of maintaining momentum on hydrogen development and are committed to accelerating progress where possible.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the £500 million for a regional hydrogen transport and storage network announced at the Spending Review remains committed.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hydrogen can help reindustrialise Britain by cutting emissions from heavy industry and providing clean power, helping to maintain our manufacturing base, and create new clean energy industries and skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands.
Transport and storage infrastructure can help unlock the full system benefits of hydrogen.
Government is continuing to work at pace to identify transport and storage requirements to inform the scope, scale and timing of government support for transport and storage infrastructure. More detail on funding will be available following the Autumn Budget on October 28th.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Invite to Offer stage of negotiations will open before the end of 2026 for businesses shortlisted under the second Hydrogen Allocation Round.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of the second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. Contract awards for successful projects will follow shortly afterwards.
We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 full list of energy projects whose funding has been delayed, reduced or cancelled to meet the capital reductions required to finance the Defence Investment Plan, together with the value of the reduction in each case.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The savings are a small part of DESNZ’s overall budget, which saw a significant uplift at Spending Review.
Our aim is for a large proportion of the savings to be found through efficiencies. We will set out more details in due course.
The UK clean energy economy is booming, with over £100bn of private sector investment announced since July 2024 thanks to the government’s clean energy mission.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 potential impact of delays to the renewed Hydrogen Strategy on the UK hydrogen technology supply chain.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We understand the importance of providing clarity to businesses across the hydrogen sector, including those in the supply chain. Hydrogen is backed in the Industrial Strategy Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan as a frontier technology, with a public finance offer designed to crowd private investment into UK supply chains.
We plan to publish the Hydrogen Strategy, alongside a package of other hydrogen policy documents, as soon as possible this year. The renewed strategy will set out Government’s vision and objectives for hydrogen, and how we intend to work with industry to continue to transform ambition into action.
In the meantime, we remain focused on delivery, with projects that were successful in HAR1 now moving to the final investment decision and our recent investment in UK electrolyser manufacturing with ITM Power in South Yorkshire.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when his Department plans to move projects shortlisted under the second Hydrogen Allocation Round to the Invite to Offer stage of negotiations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of HAR2 as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure the timely delivery of the Hydrogen Allocation Round 2 scheme by end of 2026.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of HAR2 as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, that the consent based model for determining the location of GDFs for storing nuclear waste remains government policy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains committed to delivering a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) as the long-term solution for the safe and secure management of the UK’s most hazardous radioactive waste. The process for identifying a suitable location for a GDF remains consent-based, requiring both suitable geology and a willing host community.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to launch the allocation rounds for the Hydrogen Transport Business Model and Hydrogen Storage Business Model.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are progressing the design of the business models and the first allocation round at pace. We will award the first contracts for the Hydrogen Transport Business Model and Hydrogen Storage Business Model through the Regional Hydrogen Network competition.
Further clarity on publication timings will be provided in due course.