Great British Energy Bill (First sitting)

Perran Moon Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 8th October 2024 Public Bill Committees

[Wera Hobhouse]

Q I have one last question about the timeframes, which are very vague. The Bill states:

“The Secretary of State must prepare a statement of strategic priorities for Great British Energy.”

Do you have any idea of when we can expect that statement to be laid before Parliament?

Juergen Maier: I am not sure of the exact timings. Maybe when you get evidence from the Minister he will be able to put a time on that.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Q Mr Maier, you have talked about how local communities will benefit from community energy; you mentioned floating offshore wind off the east coast of the United Kingdom. Down in Cornwall, we are very close to the Celtic sea opportunity, which is between us and Wales. Could you elaborate on the benefits, particularly the social benefits, that may come from the Celtic sea development in an area like Cornwall, which is one of the most deprived in the UK?

Juergen Maier: Indeed. The earlier question was pointed at the north-east and Aberdeen, hence my response, but you are right. As a matter of fact, the two key areas where floating offshore wind will be developed are in the north-east and in the Celtic sea. From a logistics point of view, you could not put them further apart, so it is not exactly ideal—

[The Chair]

Order. We are moving outside the scope of the Bill.

Juergen Maier: Anyway, the answer to your question is the same answer that I gave for Aberdeen. There will be an HQ, a lot of the activities, project management, knowledge and engineering, but obviously when it gets to installation and port-type infrastructure work, there will be significant opportunity in Cornwall and anywhere serving the Celtic sea.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Pakes]

Q Thank you all for coming in. Could you tell us a bit more about how GB Energy might benefit from or support the ecosystem of innovation and research we have? We know the Bill is limited; we have had that discussion. I am interested in your thoughts on how what is in the Bill might stimulate the innovation and research that the three of you represent.

Marc Hedin: I think we can reflect a little bit on the role of Great British Energy here. One of the areas for innovation is around investments in less mature technologies. It is one of the roles that was highlighted in the founding statement, published in July earlier this year. There is a role for that, but I would argue that there is also a possibility for dedicated schemes to deploy capital in less mature technologies. For instance, with regards to long-duration energy storage, we had a consultation earlier this year, generally welcomed by the industry, which looked into implementing a sort of capital flow regime to promote investment into long-duration energy storage. There is a role for GB Energy here, but there are also alternative routes that are potentially less capital-intensive.

The second aspect, touched on earlier, is around supply chain. There is huge scope here for Great British Energy, where, out of all its potential roles, it may provide the best value for money. In GB, the domestic supply chain has not generally benefited that much from the high level of renewable build-out that we have seen in the past decade or so. There is a role for providing visibility to the supply chain, and implementing innovation into the supply chain more generally in the energy sector.

Ravi Gurumurthy: If you think about different barriers to innovation, I think three stand out. One is co-ordination challenges; second is the provision of certain public goods, such as ports infrastructure, which are critical to investment; and third is risk appetite. I think GB Energy can potentially address all those in different ways.

On the risk side, co-investing—particularly in the novel technologies that Marc mentioned—can accelerate that innovation. Secondly, on things such as ports infrastructure, having a body that is trying to do whatever it takes to solve some of the co-ordination issues and the dependencies on public inputs can drive that innovation.

One other thing I would mention is that Government have a role, and have increasingly played a more co-ordinated role, in driving directed R&D through the net zero panel. I think Government can be better at that, if they are more informed, and one of the things I think GB Energy will do is to give a stronger insight into the constraints and opportunities in the market, and therefore potentially inform Government’s ability to drive innovation in a smarter way.

Shaun Spiers: I obviously agree with all that. The really difficult thing about clean power by 2030 is the last 10% or 20%. It is clear that the market on its own, at the moment, will not provide that, and just adding renewables and grid will not provide it. What GB Energy provides is the potential to invest in things like pump hydropower, compressed air and new technologies that we are going to need. That is going to be essential to achieving the 2030 power decarbonisation.

[Perran Moon]

Q My question is primarily to the Green Alliance. Shaun, what difference will GB Energy make to your analysis of the UK’s progress to date to decarbonise power generation?

Shaun Spiers: It is really quite hard to see how the UK will be able to decarbonise power generation, certainly by 2030. By 2035 was really ambitious and by 2030 is even more ambitious, so you do need a vehicle of this sort to crowd in investment and to give a really clear sense of direction to overseas investors and other investors who are looking for places to put their money. This gives a huge impetus to that mission. It is easy to set targets, but unless you have a vehicle to deliver them, they are going to be impossible to achieve. GB Energy is the key vehicle. I would say it is essential.

Ravi Gurumurthy: Nesta and Boehringer co-authored a report that I was part of, which included some of the time and cost savings that we think GB Energy can deliver—for instance, the role of GB Energy as what we call the pre-developer, where the Crown Estate takes on this role of basically preparing the sites, doing the planning consents, doing the grid connection and doing the environmental surveys before having potentially a single auction process rather than the current dual auction process. We thought that would reduce the time of getting offshore wind built by two to four years. We also produced some cost savings from doing that, including some reduction in rents. We think this institution can deliver genuine improvements in terms of time and cost.

I would not just stop at the vantage point of 2030, because although I think this will make some impact on 2030, remember that we have to double electricity capacity in this country if we are going to electrify heating and transport, so the 10 years beyond 2030 are just as important. I think GB Energy is an institution for the long term, not just for the next five years.

[The Chair]

I am being reminded again that we should focus on what is in the Bill; I know we can extrapolate what might happen. Next we go to Olivia Blake.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Flynn]

Q Again, you have spoken very eloquently about the opportunities that may or may not exist under GB Energy, particularly with regard to the risk appetite that needs to be there. You have perhaps delved into some areas in relation to planning and Crown Estate; where they sit within the devolved competency of the Scottish Parliament. I will not ask you to comment on that because that would be deeply unfair, but what you and others have done is delve into the strategic priorities and what you think they could be. Do you think it is helpful or unhelpful that at this juncture we do not have a full understanding of what those strategic priorities are, given that the Bill is going through in its current form?

Shaun Spiers: I think the more that can be done to set out the strategic priorities, the better. I do not think it necessarily needs to be in the Bill. The explanatory statement and the introductions and so on I think do give a reasonably good steer on what the strategic priorities are, but obviously this body is being set up at pace. The more clarity there is on what it is going to do, the better. I would not set unreasonable expectations of a body that is being set up really quickly, with a pretty clear short-term aim of 2030 power decarbonisation and of supporting that. However, in the longer term the priorities clearly need to be set out.

Ravi Gurumurthy: The NESO will be producing its plan in October, and you have then got the next carbon budget in February, so the actual pathway to 2030 and to 2050 will start to become even clearer in the coming months. It will need to be flexible, however. There will be technologies which emerge that shift our sense of what to focus on. You need priorities, but you do need quite a lot of flexibility in this system.

Marc Hedin: I made the point, I think, at the very beginning that we need a very flexible scope because there will be challenges to the energy transition. We need room to adapt. If this vehicle is to facilitate the energy transition, we need that scope to be relatively broad. I did mention a couple of safeguards, more like accountability, and I think that is still reasonable to ask. However, in terms of strategic priorities, I think the scope is broad enough and makes sense.

[Perran Moon]

Q As a proud Cornishman, I am very excited about the reopening of our tin mines and our lithium mines. I was very pleased to hear you mention critical minerals. Can you elaborate a little on how you think GB Energy can support the UK’s domestic critical minerals industry?

Shaun Spiers: By investing in it. It is more a question of the recycling, because there is a big recycling industry elsewhere. When the UK was the pioneer in offshore wind, it was easy to import critical raw materials and then not bother about reusing them and just import more. As the Foreign Secretary was talking about in his speech at Kew, there are now real concerns about the shortage of critical raw materials across the world. Because they are needed for so many technologies, and so many technologies that are essential to the transition, we need a plan for the transition that includes recycling plants. Lithium mining in Cornwall is great, but we also need not be exporting our critical raw materials to be repurposed elsewhere, and then reimporting the repurposed ones. There are 37 recycling plants in the EU, while in China there were 61 waste lithium battery recycling and processing companies two years ago, and it is a growing industry. It has not grown in the UK, it has not had attention, and I think that if GB Energy is committed to long-term energy security, which it is, then it could play a part in getting that industry going in the UK.

[The Chair]

We are straying quite far from the scope of the Bill. It is an interesting discussion, and it could carry on offline afterwards, but it is not within the scope of this Bill. Are there any more questions? If there are no further questions from Committee members, I thank the witnesses for their evidence.

Examination of Witnesses

Dan McGrail and Adam Berman gave evidence.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine Fookes]

Q It is good to see you both. You were not here for the earlier sessions, but there were a lot of questions about whether there is enough detail in the Bill. Before I was an MP, I used to be the CEO of a charity; if the objects of that charity had gone into an incredible amount of detail telling me exactly what to do, it would have been very difficult 10 years down the line, when I joined the charity, to pivot and do what we did. I think you are absolutely right: we are hearing from every single witness that the Bill needs to be general enough to allow the business plan to be developed by the experts running the company. You are chiming with everyone else, which is interesting and good.

My question is about tidal power. I represent a Welsh constituency, Monmouthshire. We have the River Severn in the south of the constituency, which is a tidal river, and we have the Celtic sea. What opportunities will the Bill give to generate more tidal power?

Dan McGrail: The Bill allows space for GB Energy to take quite an activist role in the sector. I am aware of tidal power companies that are already very keen to engage with GB Energy on specific proposals. One thing about tidal power is that we have seen the success of many projects through the CfD auctions. We need to see them come to investment decisions. The more we can see a state actor enabling companies to take decisions, the more it will help to scale up the industry and then the technologies. From the technologies, we can hopefully deliver the kind of supply chain growth and jobs in local communities to which we all aspire.

[Perran Moon]

Q Clause 5(1) requires the Secretary of State to

“prepare a statement of strategic priorities”.

I have been listening carefully to the priorities on skills and innovation from your perspective. Let me ask you both: if you were Secretary of State, what would be your key strategic priorities be for the Bill?

Adam Berman: The first is public value, which goes beyond the ability of GB Energy to create profits and return them to energy bills or whatever mechanism it might come up with. That is not to say that that is not important, but if this is new money—a significant amount of new capital—being made available by the Treasury, it is about how we, as a society and as an economy, can get the most out of those investments. So I would say public value, which is about not just financial returns but broader public benefits.

Secondly, it is about spreading economic activity and about how that links into the industrial strategy. That might be for the supply chain and also for GB Energy, but we should think not just about particular technologies but about particular regions.

A third priority would be the delivery of the UK’s legal objectives—its legally binding climate commitments.

A fourth priority would be the delivery of the National Energy System Operator’s priorities, which links to the strategic spatial energy plan that we have already been talking about, and ensuring that it helps to foster a workable decarbonised power sector. For example, we could see solutions such as GB Energy putting investment into wind or solar in areas with higher constraint costs or lower population centres with higher land use costs, which are not as attractive to private investors at the moment, but which with GB Energy’s lower cost of capital may well still be a profitable enterprise. It is about how we can have a win-win with NESO’s objectives.

Finally, impact on investment cannot be ignored. I recognise that it is not the Government’s intention at all that there be an impact on private sector investment, but we need to ensure, as a founding principle, that there is not a risk that any GB Energy investment could deter or crowd out private sector investment.

Dan McGrail: I would add one thing to that very good summary. There are a number of new institutions being set up at the same time—NESO, mission control, GB Energy. There are also a number of big initiatives such as strategic spatial energy plans and centralised network planning. It would be very helpful for the sector and for industry to understand the interaction of those with the national wealth fund. I almost see an organogram in my mind of how things flow. In my conversations with the sector, there have been questions about where the limit of GB Energy ends and where the National Wealth Fund begins, and so on and so forth. It would be enormously helpful for the sector and for other institutions such as the Scottish National Investment Bank and UKIB to understand how they fit within that matrix.

[The Chair]

If there are no further questions from Members, may I thank the witnesses for their evidence?

That brings us to the end of our morning sitting. We have had four panels with eight witnesses—thanks, everyone. The Committee will meet again in this Committee Room at 2 o’clock, when I will have turned into Sir Roger Gale.

Ordered, That further consideration be now adjourned. (Anna Turley.)

Great British Energy Bill

Perran Moon Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech during a debate that is so relevant to my own wonderful constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, in the heart of Cornwall. I come to this place—and I am disappointed that the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) is not present to hear me say this—with 30 years of business experience in the automotive sector and, latterly, in the renewable electricity sector. I thank all those who have given their maiden speeches today; they were all truly heartfelt, wonderful speeches. My own inspiration for being here comes from my three children, my daughter and my two sons, who join us in the Public Gallery today.

I want first to pay tribute to my predecessor George Eustice for his work on animal welfare as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as his support for local projects in Cornwall such as Kresen Kernow, the Cornish archive, and—despite our profound differences on our relationship with the EU—the honourable way in which he was prepared to criticise trade arrangements made by the Conservative party.

It is an unparalleled privilege to represent one’s home constituency, and the ties that bind Cornish men and women to our homeland are woven into every sinew of our being. The constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle is a truly remarkable place: the place where I was born and grew up and where I live. To understand Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, I respectfully ask you, Madam Deputy Speaker, to transport yourself in your mind to the summit of a single rocky hill, smack bang in the middle of the constituency. This rocky hill is called Carn Brea, which is, in fact, Cornish for “rocky hill”. At the summit of Carn Brea sits the Basset monument, looking down from 750 feet across the constituency. The monument was funded by public subscription in 1836 after Basset himself petitioned the other place against slavery in 1828.

To the north of Carn Brea, just 4 miles away, the Celtic sea sparkles in the sunlight and laps the beautiful beaches of Gwithian, Portreath, Porthtowan, St Agnes and Perranporth—the Celtic sea, which offers the prospect of vast quantities of electricity generated from offshore wind, an opportunity that I dearly hope this Government will grasp. Looking to the west from Carn Brea we see the town of Camborne, pronounced “Kammbronn” in Cornish, meaning “crooked hill”. It is a town that, along with its near neighbour Redruth, is synonymous with our tin mining heritage. The two towns were once among the wealthiest in Britain, helping to drive the economy for more than four centuries. Nestled in front of Camborne, a large flag of St Piran flutters in the breeze. This flag sits at the top of the South Crofty tin mine. There can be no finer physical symbol of the potential for the return of the Cornish economic powerhouse than South Crofty—the last tin mine to close, in 1998.

The economic winds have dramatically changed since then, and tin, which is used in the production of virtually every electrical device, is now also being used in the production of solar panels and, along with lithium, forms the cornerstone of our critical mineral industry. We import tin from as far afield as China and Australia, with all the damaging environmental impacts that come with such imports, yet in Camborne and Redruth we sit on the third highest-grade tin deposits in the world, and there is plenty of it. Our sense of pride in our mining heritage, which was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham), and the possibility of our tin mining renaissance are a constant source of hope and optimism for an area that has been damned by industrial decline for decades.

But back to the summit of Carn Brea and Basset’s monument. Further over to the west, on the horizon behind Camborne, is Hayle, the third largest town in the constituency. Although the official title of my constituency is Camborne and Redruth, woe betide me if I do not mention Hayle in the same breath. Hayle is a vital natural seaport, ready to serve the new opportunities in the Celtic sea, and it includes a very large estuary. Indeed, the Cornish word for estuary is hayl. I have strong familial ties with the town, where my great-uncles, the Slade family, once ran a steel engineering business on South Quay.

Let us look directly south from Carn Brea now, to the gentle rolling hills leading down through the beautiful Cornish granite villages of Stithians, Mawnan Smith and Constantine, and then on to the two stunning subtropical gardens of Glendurgan and Trebah, which, in turn, lead down to the Helford river, from where thousands of American troops set off on D-day to free Europe from fascism.

To the east of Carn Brea lies Redruth, the Cornish meaning of which is “red ford”, the Cornish word for “red” being “ruth” and the word for “ford” being “red”—obviously! Redruth is rapidly becoming a cultural hub, and I strongly recommend visits to Krowji creative hub, Kresen Kernow—the aforementioned archive centre—the Buttermarket, and the Ladder arts and culture hub. Our former prosperity is evident throughout the centre of Redruth, with imposing granite buildings that are awakening with new life after a deep slumber.

Further to the east, beyond Redruth, can be found the villages of Carharrack and St Day, which served as a hub for the one of the world’s wealthiest copper mining districts from the 16th century to the 1830s. Just beyond them is United Downs, where Cornish Lithium, Geothermal Engineering and ground source heat pump companies are based. These businesses have the potential to play key roles in Britain’s economic transformation. We have tin, lithium, geothermal and ground source heat, but we are also blessed with the opportunities of offshore wind in the Celtic sea, onshore wind, solar and tidal. There are very few places in the UK in which renewable energy and critical mineral opportunities are so abundant.

The renewable energy opportunities are not the only factors that make this land so distinct. Let me quickly give three other examples. First, 10 years ago Cornwall was granted national minority status under the European framework convention for the protection of national minorities. Our language, our culture and our heritage, as well as our economic potential, mark us out on this island. Secondly, the positive reaction received by all six Cornish MPs on both sides of the House for taking our oaths in Cornish is telling. Almost half our children and young people consider themselves first and foremost Cornish. Finally, on Saturday my brother Dickon will be made a bard of the Gorsedh, the highest honour that can be bestowed on a Cornish man or woman. This is an honour awarded to people who have given exceptional service to Cornwall by a manifestation of the Celtic spirit or by service to Cornwall.

It is these cultural differences that mark us out. It has been clear on the doorstep over the past two years that there is a strong desire for a non-mayoral model of governance arrangement with Westminster. My hope and my focus in coming weeks and months will be to persuade the Government that the most appropriate devolution arrangement for Cornwall is an Assembly similar to that of our Celtic cousins in Wales.

In terms of economic development, culture and governance, the time has come to throw open the cage door and unleash the Cornish Celtic tiger. For my part, I will put all my energies into representing the people of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle to the best of my abilities. To do so will be the honour of my life. Meur ras—thank you.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Contracts for Difference

Perran Moon Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words. He raises an incredibly serious and important issue. When I came into Government, I asked for discussions across Government on this. Controls were in place, to be fair to the last Government, and as part of the ongoing solar taskforce, these issues were being looked at, but we need to kick the tyres on this, to make sure that the proper controls are in place. My Department is very happy to have discussions with him and other interested parties on those questions.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, and his tireless campaigning in favour of unleashing our renewable energy potential. As he knows, Cornwall is ready, willing and able to play a full part in the renewable energy transition. Can he outline his plans to support smaller, co-operative, community energy projects? When it comes to those, once again, Cornwall stands ready to act.

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend asks a very important question, which gives me a chance to advertise the Second Reading of the Great British Energy Bill on Thursday. All are welcome—standing room only! As part of our plans for Great British Energy, we allocated £3 billion of the £8.3 billion that we set out in the election for what we call the local power plan to do what other countries such as Denmark and Germany do as a matter of course: unleash local renewables, with local communities, councils, community groups and co-ops being part of that. That is important, because it is a way to tackle fuel poverty and generate income for local communities. It is also important as a way of winning consent from local people. I look forward to my hon. Friend and others making a contribution on this question in that debate and others.

Clean Energy Superpower Mission

Perran Moon Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to his position. Cornwall is one of the most deprived areas of northern Europe. However, we are blessed with vast renewable energy resources, as mentioned earlier: onshore wind, offshore wind, geothermal, tidal, solar and ground source heat technologies, as well as critical minerals, not from China but from Camborne and Redruth. Will the Secretary of State meet me and Cornish colleagues to discuss how GB Energy will be used to realise our renewable energy potential and to transform local Cornish economies?

[Edward Miliband]

My hon. Friend is also a great guy to go on a boat with. As he says, Cornwall and our coastal communities have an incredibly important part to play. Some of the biggest economic challenges we face as a country are in our coastal communities. It is not easy, but if we get this right it will be a massive opportunity, not just for Cornwall but for all our coastal communities, and that is what this Government intend to do.