Liz McInnes
Main Page: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Amber Rudd
My hon. Friend makes an interesting point and I will look out for that eventuality.
Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)
The established wind farm on Scoutmoor, adjacent to my constituency, has a lifetime of only 25 years. What is the Secretary of State’s long-term plan for renewable energy when existing wind farms have to be decommissioned?
Amber Rudd
The extraordinary thing about renewable energy is that it is such a fast-moving field. Nobody knows which will be the dominant renewable energy, able to supply cost-effectively, in 20 to 25 years’ time—no, less, in 10 or 15 years’ time. Perhaps we will have developed storage—perhaps carbon capture and storage will be coming on line. There are so many unknowns in this area that I urge the hon. Lady to keep an open mind about different sources of renewable energy, just as this Department does.