Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much the Drax power station has received in subsidies for burning wood in each of the last eight years; and if she will make an estimate of the amount of CO2 that was released from its chimneys in that period.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
Information is only available on Drax’s support for electricity generation from all types of biomass, (including wood from sustainable sources) and on lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The figures in the table below give the value of the support under the Renewables Obligation scheme for generation from all the types of biomass used by Drax.
Year | Notional value of support under the Renewables Obligation[1] |
2015/16 | £548.1m |
2016/17 | £547.9m |
2017/18 | £399.2m |
2018/19 | £513.3m |
2019/20 | £508.9m |
2020/21 | £508.5m |
2021/22 | £619.7m |
2022/23 | £634.2m[2] |
From 2016 (the start of their support under the Contracts for Difference scheme) to 2023, Drax was paid £1.38bn in net difference payments. The details are published by the Low Carbon Contracts Company on their Data Portal[3].
Drax’s GHG emissions under the Renewables Obligation are available in Ofgem’s sustainability datasets[4]. For the Contracts for Difference scheme, Drax’s avoided GHG emissions are published by the Low Carbon Contracts Company on their Data Portal.
[1] Support under the Renewables Obligation is through tradeable certificates. The figures give the notional value of the support
[2] Provisional figure as all the certificates for 2022/23 may not have been issued yet.
[3] The Low Carbon Contracts Company’s Data Portal is at: https://dp.lowcarboncontracts.uk/dataset/actual-cfd-generation-and-avoided-ghg-emissions/resource/fa730219-fbd2-41b5-9510-ba2b0ff2c1ba
[4] Ofgem’s annual sustainability datasets are at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/renewables-obligation-ro/renewables-obligation-ro-suppliers/biomass-sustainability
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 26 of the research paper by Chatham House entitled BECCS deployment: the risks of policies forging ahead, published in October 2021, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of that paper's findings on the carbon payback period of a mature tree; and whether her Department has made an estimate of the carbon payback period for unabated wood burning.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government views sustainably sourced biomass as low carbon, in line with independent organisations such as the CCC and IPCC, as set out in the Government Biomass Strategy, published in August 2023.
Only biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria receives support from Government. For forest derived biomass, the criteria includes requirements around sustainable forest management including regeneration rates and sustainable harvesting, requiring that the carbon stock of the forest is not decreased.
In 2024, Government will consult on a cross sectorial sustainability framework to see where we can strengthen the criteria further based on latest evidence.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
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 impact of the Energy Bill Support Scheme on businesses (a) in Woking constituency and (b) across the country.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Businesses, including those within the Woking constituency and across the UK, have already benefitted from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ended on 31 March and provided over £7.4 billion of support.
Businesses experiencing high energy costs will continue to get a discount on gas and electricity bills under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) until 31 March 2024, including the higher level of support for eligible Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) and domestic heat network customers on commercial contracts.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of Great British Nuclear to the Government’s domestic nuclear energy targets.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to my hon Friend the Member for Hendon (Dr Matthew Offord) on 15 September to Question UIN 198081.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential role of nuclear energy in achieving the Government's net zero emissions targets.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The importance of the role of nuclear energy in the Government’s strategy for achieving our net zero emissions targets was most recently set out in our March 2023 policy paper: Powering Up Britain initiatives. This includes our Net Zero Growth Plan, which reiterates the ambition of the 2022 British Energy Security Strategy for deploying up to 24 gigawatts of nuclear by 2050, around 25% of our projected 2050 electricity demand. Modelling for nuclear, which was first published alongside the Energy White Paper 2020, is set out in Table 2, page 24, of the Technical Annex to the Net Zero Growth Plan.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
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 merits of using nuclear fusion technology to provide energy.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
Fusion energy has the potential to be the ultimate clean power solution, representing a low carbon, safe, continuous and sustainable source of energy. Fusion creates more energy per gram than any other process achievable on Earth, and unlike other methods of energy generation such as wind or solar power, does not depend on any external factors, meaning it can be deployed continuously at the point of need. Fusion also offers potential to be one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy on earth. Its processes require hydrogen and lithium, both of which are widely available in many parts of the world. Moreover, the reaction does not emit any CO2 or other harmful emissions into our atmosphere and fusion power plants are not expected to create the very long-lived, high-level radioactive waste associated with fission.
The UK is widely recognised as a world-leader in fusion. To capitalise on this opportunity, the Government is investing over £700m in UK fusion research programmes and facilities over the next three years, and in February announced the formation of UK Industrial Fusion Solutions to deliver the STEP prototype fusion energy plant at West Burton in Nottinghamshire.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The EBRS review assessed a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence from businesses and stakeholders on sectors that may be most affected by rising energy prices based on energy and trade intensity. The results were used alongside results from a BEIS business survey, inputs from other government departments, and wider economic and public policy considerations. The outcome of the review informed the criteria of the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS).
The EBDS will run from April until March 2024, and will continue to provide a discount to eligible and vulnerable non-domestic customers, except for those experiencing low energy costs.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
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 provide energy bill support to households that use alternative fuels.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme is delivering £200 to eligible households who use alternative fuels such as heating oil, liquefied petroleum gas, coal or biomass.
A small proportion of households who didn’t receive the payment automatically will need to apply for the AFP. Applications for this Alternative Fund opened on 6 March through a GOV.UK portal which includes an overview of eligibility and what steps households need to take to apply for support.