Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to introduce additional regulatory mechanisms to ensure the financial viability of community energy schemes under the Great British Energy Bill.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change. In March, we published a response to a consultation, started by the previous government, on the barriers to community energy. We will learn from the responses to the consultation to inform our future work on community energy.
The Government also recognises requests to take steps to better enable local energy markets. The Secretary of State previously commissioned Ofgem to explore the policy and regulatory barriers and solutions for the community energy sector. The energy industry has also been working to make changes to industry rules to support local trade of energy, including modification P442 of the Balancing and Settlement Code, which came into effect in February 2025. The Department is working closely with Ofgem and other key stakeholders to develop this work further.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting a spatial energy planning approach to better align land use planning with net zero objectives.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In October 2024, the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, jointly commissioned the National Energy System Operator to develop a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP): the first ever spatial energy plan for Great Britain, to support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure across both land and sea. The SSEP will help bring about an efficient and net zero consistent energy system and provide greater clarity to industry, investors, consumers and the public. The plan’s methodology was published in May 2025, with the SSEP due to be published in 2026.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to publish a national strategy on community energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of communities being at the heart of the energy transition and the benefits of communities owning energy infrastructure in their own community. Great British Energy will take forward the Local Power Plan and working alongside DESNZ to unlock regulatory changes will drive forward an expanded community energy sector across the UK. We will say more about the Local Power Plan in due course.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to publish clear guidance on the definition of community energy; what steps he is taking to tackle (a) capacity and (b) skills shortages in its development; and what steps he is taking to ensure that funding can be (i) accessed and (ii) utilised at local level.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role community energy plays in ensuring that the public benefits directly from the energy transition and, in partnership with Great British Energy (GBE), is taking steps to maximise that role, including exploring a definition for community energy which could provide clarity to a number of relevant stakeholders when engaging with community energy organisations.
GBE will supercharge existing support to local and community energy projects. To support stakeholders in accessing and deploying funding, GBE will also provide commercial, technical and project planning assistance, increasing capacity and capability to build a pipeline of successful projects in local areas.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that rural and off-grid communities are fully integrated into the UK’s grid transition.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are upgrading local electricity distribution networks to enable the decarbonisation of households and businesses across Great Britain, including in rural areas. For the current electricity distribution price control (2023-2028), Ofgem have allowed £22.2bn of upfront investment, including £3.1bn for network upgrades for low-carbon technologies. Regional Energy Strategic Plans will consider local area energy requirements and will inform DNO investment plans for the next electricity distribution price control (2028-2033), ensuring timely reinforcement of local electricity networks for rural communities.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing statutory Locally Determined Contributions; and what assessment he has made of the resources that would be required by local authorities to deliver them effectively.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the important role of local places in driving action to help realise our national net zero targets. Local government has autonomy and flexibility in how they choose to deliver net zero, according to the varying needs and opportunities of each local area.
Government provides a range of support for local government to deliver net zero; for example, Great British Energy, our new publicly-owned energy company, will support local energy generation by partnering with local government to increase the roll-out of renewable energy projects. Government also funds the Local Net Zero Hubs which support local authorities across England to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment, including through information and knowledge-sharing.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 merits of policy in (a) Denmark, (b) Germany and (c) other countries in increasing community energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Department regularly looks to good practice from other countries and will continue to build on those experiences and lessons learned as we jointly develop the Local Power Plan with Great British Energy.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the 2035 Future Energy Scenarios-derived capacity ranges for solar and batteries in his Department’s Clean Power Action Plan connections annex are intended to be used by Ofgem and network operators as (a) technology caps and (b) interim indications.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The 2035 capacity ranges present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system and provide certainty to investors by ensuring a 10-year horizon for connection offers. NESO will use the ranges to underpin connection offers out to 2035. The 2035 figures are interim, to enable connection reform to proceed at pace, and are subject to updates through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which will be published in 2026.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to consult the public on his revised seventh carbon budget plan.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have a clear mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower. This transition will make people better off now and for generations to come. We remain committed to supporting people to realise the benefits and design policies that are responsive to their needs.
By end of October 2025, we will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy.
We will also publish a Net Zero Public Participation Strategy which will set out how we will support people to access the benefits of new technologies and ensure that diverse perspectives are considered in net zero policy making.
Looking ahead, we will set Carbon Budget 7 by June 2026, in line with our statutory duties. This will set out the next phase of our pathway to net zero to continue to secure the economic and societal benefits of the net zero transition.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on what statutory basis his Department can prevent biomass companies from claiming renewable subsidies for burning wood from irreplaceable primary forests.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State has the statutory authority to determine the sustainability criteria for biomass subsidies either by secondary legislation such as regulations under the Renewables Obligation scheme, or by determining the terms of a contract under the Contracts for Difference scheme.
While the Secretary of State sets the sustainability framework, it is for relevant regulators such as Ofgem, or the Low-Carbon Contracts Company as the contractual counterparty to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, to enforce sustainability requirements.
Government only supports biomass that satisfies sustainability criteria. The proposed Low-Carbon Dispatchable CfD will strengthen sustainability criteria by excluding biomass sourced from primary forest and old-growth areas from receiving subsidy.