Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Harrington of Watford Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Richard Harrington)]

Over a third of projects supported by contracts for difference are located in Scotland. In October, we announced plans to allow wind projects on the remote islands of Scotland to compete for support in the next auction. We have submitted a notification of our plans to the European Commission.

[Brendan O’Hara]

My constituency has much going for it, including an abundance of wind and water, making it an ideal place for all kinds of renewable energy projects. What will the Government do to provide revenue support to renewable energy companies during the innovation period while they work to bring down costs?

[Richard Harrington]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman has read the industrial strategy avidly; if he has not, I warmly recommend that he does so, as it covers these matters extensively.

[Hannah Bardell]

In the EU, we have benefited from funding from the European Investment Bank, which has contributed to the development of renewable energy generation in Scotland, including through a £525 million loan for the Beatrice wind farm project off the Caithness coast. Can the Minister reassure the House that the UK will continue to participate in and have access to the capital provided by the European Investment Bank after Brexit?

[Richard Harrington]

Like the hon. Lady, I commend what the European Investment Bank has done, but the Government are totally committed to renewables and to our own investment in getting a carbon free environment in the way that has been very successful over the last few years.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

Can the Minister confirm that up to £557 million will be made available for less established renewable electricity projects as part of the clean growth strategy, and that projects in Scotland will be able to compete for their share of that fund?

[Richard Harrington]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is very much an important part of the industrial strategy.

[James Heappey (Wells) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the key is policy certainty, to enable our growing green finance industries to come forward to finance these initiatives themselves, so that the initiatives do not need to rely on Government subsidy?

[Richard Harrington]

I agree totally with my hon. Friend. I am very impressed by the way in which the finance industry generally is adapting to the clean projects ahead of us.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

Support from the Government will be required to get marine renewables such as wave and tidal power to the point of commercialisation. Renewables UK has come up with a proposal for innovation power purchase agreements. What is the Government’s view of that?

[Richard Harrington]

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, we are studying that proposition carefully.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

5. When he plans to respond to the Taylor review of modern working practices.

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[Colin Clark (Gordon) (Con)]

6. What estimate he has made of the potential carbon savings due to result from phasing out the use of unabated coal from electricity generation by 2025.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Richard Harrington)]

We are leading the world by ending unabated coal generation in Great Britain by 2025, and our consultation document published last year set out our estimate that that could guarantee savings of up to 124 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between 2016 and 2030.

[Colin Clark]

Further exploration of the North sea for oil and gas was given a boost in the Budget. Gas is a lower emitter of greenhouse gases and is a better alternative to coal, so will the Minister focus on oil and gas in particular when developing the industrial strategy?

[Richard Harrington]

We absolutely will. While the move towards clean growth is clear, the White Paper sets out that oil and gas remain one of the economy’s most productive sectors and refers to the intelligent use of its assets and expertise. I thank my hon. Friend for joining me on a visit to Aberdeen; we saw the prospects for the green economy, where sweating the assets is already leading to innovation.

[Anna McMorrin (Cardiff North) (Lab)]

Unlike Wales’ ambitious targets for moving towards low carbon generation in onshore wind, the lack of ambition shown by the UK Government is startling. Will the Minister confirm whether Welsh wind projects will be eligible in any future contract for difference pot 1 auction, which he has already confirmed for projects in Scotland?

[Richard Harrington]

The hon. Lady should be aware that this country is leading the world in the development of green energy.

[David Warburton (Somerton and Frome) (Con)]

21. The good people of Frome are leading the way in moving to a low-carbon economy. We have ambitious plans to be carbon neutral by 2046, when all the energy needed to live, work and travel will be provided by renewable sources. May I invite the Minister, or indeed the Secretary of State, to Frome in sunny Somerset to hear this story first hand and see how these ambitions are being realised?

[Richard Harrington]

My hon. Friend should be reassured that nothing would please me more than coming to Frome in Somerset to see the work that he has done locally. The clean growth strategy sets out how the UK is leading the world on carbon emissions, and we have set out how the Government will invest more than £2.5 billion in low-carbon innovation between 2015 and 2021.

[Mr Speaker]

I am sure that Frome will roll out some sort of carpet for the hon. Gentleman.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

Major banks have lent £630 billion to build new coal-powered stations across the world, many of them in our competitor countries. What assessment has the Minister made of the cost of electricity for the competitiveness of businesses in the UK and does he not recognise that our attempts to save the world while the rest of the world is gaily building power stations fuelled by coal only damage our economy?

[Richard Harrington]

The hon. Gentleman is probably aware that we commissioned the Helm review of all the different costs of energy. We believe in a mixed use strategy for energy, and he must also understand the employment and economic advantages of the development of alternative energy sources, quite apart from the carbon-free advantages.

[David T. C. Davies (Monmouth) (Con)]

16. Does my hon. Friend agree that, notwithstanding his comments, wind energy requires a subsidy, realignment of the national grid and extra money for back-up sources when the wind is not blowing? Does that not mean that the electricity will be far more expensive than that which is produced by gas or coal?

[Richard Harrington]

The facts are that the—

[Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)]

Tell him he is wrong.

[Richard Harrington]

There is a lot of chuntering from a sedentary position, which I will not take any notice of. I would like to answer the question if Opposition Members will allow me.

My hon. Friend should know that the cost of renewable energy is coming down. The cost of electricity from offshore wind farms, for example, has halved in price since they were first introduced. The Opposition may interpret this to mean that my hon. Friend is wrong. I would say that he is not wrong but he needs further education on this subject, and I will be delighted to meet him at any time to discuss it.

[Mr Speaker]

What an enticing prospect for the hon. Member for Monmouth.

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[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

15. What steps he is taking to support the offshore wind industry.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Richard Harrington)]

The UK is the world’s largest offshore wind market and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The contracts for difference announced in September will support more offshore wind deployment in the UK than Denmark and the Netherlands have in their last four auctions combined.

[Peter Aldous]

I am grateful to the Minister for his reply. Offshore wind has been of significant benefit to my constituency, but will he outline the work that the Government are doing to ensure that UK fabricators, such as Sembmarine SLP in Lowestoft, have every opportunity to participate in this great British success story?

[Richard Harrington]

I am delighted that companies in Lowestoft, such as Sembmarine, are benefiting from offshore wind projects off the east coast. I met several of them earlier this year, thanks to my hon. Friend’s invitation, at the East of England Energy Group event in October. Developers must submit a supply chain plan before entering into a CfD auction.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

The north Wales coast is one of the key offshore wind sectors in the whole world, never mind the United Kingdom. Ministers announced £557 million for renewable energy in the Budget a few weeks ago. How much of that will go towards renewable offshore energy?

[Richard Harrington]

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, the system of CfD auctions is very efficient in allocating money, and I have every reason to believe that the north Wales coast will be a major beneficiary of it.

[Martin Whitfield (East Lothian) (Lab)]

17. What assessment he has made of the potential merits of serving officers in the Civil Nuclear Police Authority being exempted from the planned increase in the state pension age for public servants in April 2019.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Richard Harrington)]

The pension age for civil nuclear constabulary officers was agreed by Parliament in 2013. I have met both the chief constable and the chair of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority to hear their concerns about the planned increase to the pension age. After listening to their concerns, my officials are preparing an equality impact assessment. Additionally, I have arranged to meet the Civil Nuclear Police Federation early in the new year.

[Martin Whitfield]

Stuart, a firearms officer in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary who works in Torness in my constituency, asks, like many such officers, why he is any different from the police who protect us from terrorists on the street when he is protecting a cornerstone of our power industry.

[Richard Harrington]

I have heard the hon. Gentleman’s point before. It is a valid one and, as I said, I am looking into it.

[Mrs Kemi Badenoch (Saffron Walden) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

T8. Rumours abound that the Westminster Government are seeking to change the policy on nuclear decommissioning. Will the Minister indicate whether he has any plans to introduce a policy of continuous decommissioning for the UK’s ageing nuclear estate, and whether such a policy would apply to Trawsfynydd?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Richard Harrington)]

I can assure the hon. Lady that nuclear decommissioning is a very important part of the scenery and will be for many years to come.

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[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

Last week I was pleased to welcome a delegation from Taiwan to my constituency to meet businesses in the offshore renewables sector, and the delegation regarded the way the sector has developed in the UK as a model. Will the Minister outline what support is available to small and medium-sized businesses involved in the supply chain in this country that want to extend to countries abroad?

[Richard Harrington]

I can assure my hon. Friend that our industrial strategy, and particularly our discussions on the sector deal, have been very much based on skilling up small businesses with a view to their expanding in this country and exporting.

[Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)]

The Secretary of State may know that Unite the union officials from the Belfast Bombardier plant are in Washington and Montreal pressing the case against the egregious US tariff situation. Is the Secretary of State continuing to engage in this process and working towards a sensible resolution?