Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

Debate between Michael Shanks and Brian Leishman

Friday 26th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

The hon. Gentleman is right to represent his constituents, of course, and we will not in any way remove the ability of communities to be part of the consultation process and the planning system, but the issue is that this has not been happening for so long. We need to move forward with some of this infrastructure. We want to look at the benefit that communities will get from it—a range of options are being looked at—but at some point we need national recognition that some infrastructure is necessary and nationally significant. Some communities will have to host that infrastructure, and there should be benefits for them to doing so; it does not mean that we should stop doing these things. The days of the Government passing the buck to a future generation to fix the issues are gone. We need to tackle the crisis, and that means that we will build projects in communities—with consultation, of course—because nationally significant projects will have to go ahead if we want to reach our targets by 2030.

In one week, more solar capacity was delivered by this Government than through all previous solar projects consented to by the Department and its predecessors combined. We have reconvened the solar taskforce to explore what else Government and industry can do to help us to treble solar power by 2030.

Underpinning a renewables-based system will be a baseload of nuclear power. We want to see Hinkley Point C operational this decade, with extensions to the currently operating fleet, and we are also supporting the development of new sites such as Sizewell C. Meanwhile, Great British Nuclear is continuing to drive forward the competition for small modular reactors, with bids currently being evaluated by the Department.

There has been much debate about the role the North sea will play and what a just transition will look like. The reality, as I mentioned earlier, is that the North sea is a mature basin with declining reserves. Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the number of direct jobs supported by the oil and gas industry has already fallen by more than a third since 2014.

[Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)]

Regarding the potential closure of the Grangemouth refinery, the Just Transition Commission recently said that the UK Government have taken positive steps in working collaboratively with the Scottish Government. There is no doubt that we are behind schedule because of the previous Government’s inaction. Will my hon. Friend provide an update on when the Grangemouth future industry board leadership forum will next meet?

[Michael Shanks]

Again, I thank my hon. Friend not just for his intervention, but for all the work he has done before and since his election. He has been a dedicated campaigner on this issue and has raised it a number of times with me and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

My hon. Friend’s point about collaboration is incredibly important. We have reset our relations with the devolved Administrations across the country. In particular, on Grangemouth, we have been working hard with the Scottish Government to find a solution. That has been a far more helpful set of interventions than we had from the previous Government. For example, on Project Willow, we have committed to joint funding with the Scottish Government to drive forward to find a solution. We are leaving no stone unturned to secure an industrial future for the Grangemouth site, and I know that my hon. Friend will continue to campaign on the issue.

The future of the North sea more generally depends on having a plan for the industries of the future, whether that is carbon capture and storage, hydrogen or, indeed, renewables. The just transition is critical and it is something I take incredibly seriously, so we will work with North sea communities to develop a credible long-term plan. That work will be supported by a British jobs bonus to incentivise developers to build their supply chains here in the UK and to create good jobs in our industrial heartlands and coastal communities. We will make sure that our offshore workers are the people who decarbonise our country and deliver our energy independence, and that there is a strong, resilient workforce in the North sea for decades to come.