Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the letter from her Department to the Rt hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge dated 11 February 2026, if she will publish data behind his department’s assessment that solar farms will provide “enormous potential to create good jobs, protect billpayers, ensure energy security”.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The evidence underpinning this assessment is already published.
The Solar Roadmap, published in June 2025, estimates that the solar sector could support around 35,000 jobs by 2030, double the number it supports today. The Clean Energy Jobs Plan, published in October 2025, sets out the workforce needed across clean energy sectors, including solar, alongside a technical annex and supplementary data.
The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets out the Government's analysis that increasing homegrown clean electricity strengthens energy security by reducing our exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Utility-scale solar is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation to build and operate and is expected to help reduce costs in the electricity system over the long term.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
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 impact of siting solar farms near Category A prisons on the security of (a) communications, (b) wi-fi and (c) energy supplies.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No such assessment has been made.
Maintaining security of energy supplies is a key priority and critical energy operators are required to meet a minimum standard of cyber security and resilience, through the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018. The Department works continually with Ofgem and the National Cyber Security Centre to ensure that these regulations continue to capture all the most critical operators of energy generation systems.