Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the lifecycle carbon emissions per MWh for generating electricity by (a) burning (i) wood, (ii) coal and (iii) gas and (d) using nuclear energy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The lifecycle emissions of individual plants depend strongly upon the efficiency of generation, supply chains, production techniques, agricultural practices, and transport distances. Typical values in CO2 equivalents for the UK are Wood: 96 kg/MWh, Coal: 968 kg/MWh, Natural gas: 411 kg/MWh and Nuclear: 12 kg/MWh.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her Department plans to publish the outcomes of its consultation on Improving boiler standards and efficiency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government will publish its response to the consultation, Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency, in due course.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed Clean Heat Market Mechanism on (a) jobs, (b) inward investment and (c) homeowners.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department estimates that developing the UK heat pump market to 600,000 installations per year will support over 30,000 futureproof low-carbon jobs by 2028. The Clean Heat Market Mechanism is a key part of the policy framework that the Government is bringing forward to support this expansion of the heat pump market. The Government anticipates significant investment opportunity in this growing market for both domestic-origin and inward investors. As the market for heat pumps expands, the Government expects to see improvement in the range and affordability of consumer propositions related to heat pump installations available to UK home- and building-owners.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed Clean Heat Market Mechanism on investment in heat pump production by UK-based businesses.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government supports an expansion of UK heat pump manufacturing and has set out an ambition for a thirty-fold increase in the number made and sold in the UK each year. The Government recently launched a £30 million Heat Pump Manufacturing Investment Accelerator Competition to complement the support offered by the new capital allowances announced in this year’s Spring Budget.
The Government is publishing a policy framework, including the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, to give clarity around the scale of the UK heat pump market.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the use of funds levied as a result of missed targets through the proposed Clean Heat Market Mechanism on (a) investment in manufacturing of and (b) support for homeowners for purchasing heat pumps.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In the consultation, the Government has proposed proportionate and realistic targets for the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, along with a set of other flexibility options for scheme participants. The Government is confident that all market actors will be able to meet the scheme targets, avoiding the need to make payments in lieu. If companies do choose to make any such payments, these will go to the Government’s Consolidated Account.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
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 increasing the use of existing weirs to generate renewable energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Hydropower accounts for approximately 2% of total electricity generation in the UK. Most current deployment is in a small run of river projects which tend to be relatively expensive.
Studies in Scotland, England and Wales indicate that there is a maximum remaining technical potential of around 1.5GW for small-scale hydro, including existing weirs.
Economic and environmental constraints mean that in practice the viable remaining resource is less than 1GW, which represents less than 1% of total generation capacity, so is not a significant contributor to the Government's future generation plans