Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many UK supply chain (a) jobs and (b) apprenticeships were created in the renewable energy sector in each year from 2009 to 2014.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Figures published by BIS in The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy (March 2015) [1] report show that in 2013 the renewable energy sector (including both renewable heat and renewable electricity) supported around 168,400 jobs [2] in total, an increase of 31,000 from 2010.
Table 1 details the number of jobs supported by the renewable energy sector, both directly and within the supply chain each year for 2010-2013. The equivalent information is not available for 2009 or 2014 or for the number of apprenticeships that have been created.
Table 1: Number of jobs supported by the renewable energy sector in the UK
Year | Direct jobs | Supply chain/ indirect jobs | Total |
2010 | 80,100 | 57,300 | 137,400 |
2011 | 89,600 | 64,000 | 153,500 |
2012 | 95,700 | 68,300 | 164,100 |
2013 | 98,200 | 70,100 | 168,400 |
[2] This figure is derived from the following sectors: offshore wind, solar PV, hydroelectric energy, onshore wind, marine, energy generation from waste, biomass equipment, geothermal, heat pumps, solar thermal, heat networks, heat recovery and ventilation and alternative fuels. Alternative fuels category includes jobs in both renewable and non-renewable energy sectors.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many (a) jobs and (b) apprenticeships were created in the development of carbon capture and storage in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
DECC does not hold this data.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the benefits and disbenefits of UK ownership of energy infrastructure in relation to the security of energy supply.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Government welcomes responsible investment by both national and foreign investors in the UK’s energy infrastructure. This benefits our energy security, creates jobs, build skills, and helps grow our economy. All energy infrastructure in the UK must be operated in accordance with the relevant UK regulatory system.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what comparative assessment she has made of the benefits and disbenefits of (a) UK and (b) foreign ownership of energy infrastructure; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Government welcomes responsible investment by both national and foreign investors in the UK’s energy infrastructure. This benefits our energy security, creates jobs, build skills, and helps grow our economy. All energy infrastructure in the UK must be operated in accordance with the relevant UK regulatory system.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential for northern cities to benefit from (a) Rampion wind farm and (b) other investment in renewable energy sources.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not estimated the value of work accruing to UK manufacturing companies in each region from the development of the Rampion wind farm.
In November 2014 the Offshore Wind Industry Council adopted an industry-wide methodology for reporting on UK Content. This reporting helps industry hold itself to account on the commitment to reach 50% UK content, while charting progress and reporting to a wider public. This figure will show total UK content and break this down into the three main phases of development (devex), manufacture & construction (capex) and operation (opex).
The first data will be submitted to RenewableUK by industry in summer 2015 for publication later in the year.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefit to the economy of each UK region of investment in the Rampion wind farm.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not estimated the value of work accruing to UK manufacturing companies in each region from the development of the Rampion wind farm.
In November 2014 the Offshore Wind Industry Council adopted an industry-wide methodology for reporting on UK Content. This reporting helps industry hold itself to account on the commitment to reach 50% UK content, while charting progress and reporting to a wider public. This figure will show total UK content and break this down into the three main phases of development (devex), manufacture & construction (capex) and operation (opex).
The first data will be submitted to RenewableUK by industry in summer 2015 for publication later in the year.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the value of work accruing to UK manufacturing companies in each region from the development of the Rampion wind farm.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not estimated the value of work accruing to UK manufacturing companies in each region from the development of the Rampion wind farm.
In November 2014 the Offshore Wind Industry Council adopted an industry-wide methodology for reporting on UK Content. This reporting helps industry hold itself to account on the commitment to reach 50% UK content, while charting progress and reporting to a wider public. This figure will show total UK content and break this down into the three main phases of development (devex), manufacture & construction (capex) and operation (opex).
The first data will be submitted to RenewableUK by industry in summer 2015 for publication later in the year.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of coal used in UK energy generation is imported; and from which countries coal is imported.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
DECC does not hold figures on the proportion of coal used in UK electricity generation from imports.
However, in 2014, 34,174 thousand tonnes of steam coal (mainly used by coal-fired power stations) were imported into the UK, representing 89% of coal used for electricity generation (38,398 thousand tonnes).
The table below gives the breakdown of these imports by country:
Country of origin | Steam Coal Imports (thousand tonnes) | Share of all steam coal imports |
Russia | 15,831 | 46.3% |
Colombia | 9,269 | 27.1% |
United States of America | 7,687 | 22.5% |
European Union (1) | 690 | 2.0% |
Republic of South Africa | 129 | 0.4% |
Other Countries | 569 | 1.7% |
Total all countries | 34,174 |
(1) European Union includes non-EU routed through the Netherlands
Source: Energy Trends tables 2.1 and 2.4, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-section-2-energy-trends.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what level of investment her Department plans to make in the development of carbon capture and storage.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is investing in the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the UK. We are in negotiations to support up to two commercial scale CCS projects in the UK by making up to £1 billion available, together with operational support through a project specific Contract for Difference.
Together with the Scottish Government, we have recently committed, in principle, to provide £4.2 million to support Summit Power to undertake industrial research and development at their proposed CCS Caledonia Clean Energy Plant in Grangemouth Scotland. This is in addition to over £30 million of Government investment in CCS research and development since 2011.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many jobs will be created by investment in the planned Rampion wind farm; and what steps she is taking to ensure that UK supply chains benefit from such investment.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not estimated how many jobs will be created by investment in the planned Rampion wind farm.
The EON press release on Rampion states that during the planned 3 year offshore construction period up to 300 jobs will be created and local vessels utilised, with 40 roles being based at the project management facility in Newhaven Port. The press release also states that a workforce of up to 100 is expected to be needed for the onshore cable route and around a further 40 to 60 people at the onshore substation during onshore construction. Once the wind farm is commissioned and fully operational, it is envisaged that up to 65 full time permanent jobs will be created at the operations and maintenance base.
The Department, together with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, are working closely with EON to maximise UK benefit and ensure that UK supply chain companies have the opportunity to compete for contracts that have yet to be awarded.