Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many UK households have experienced power cuts in the last five years due to insufficient renewable energy supply.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No UK households have experienced power cuts in the last five years due to insufficient renewable electricity generation. Great Britain has a highly resilient electricity system with diverse supplies, and the system operator has the tools required to balance supply and demand across a wide range of scenarios.
Where power cuts have occurred, these have resulted from factors such as severe weather or local network faults, rather than generation adequacy.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what financial liabilities relating to Lindsey Oil Refinery decommissioning fall to the taxpayer, as opposed to the buyer of the site.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The insolvency process at Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery is led by the court-appointed Official Receiver, who must act in accordance with his statutory duties and independently of government. The government will continue to support and fund the Official Receiver until a sale has been completed.
After a thorough process to identify a buyer for the site, the Official Receiver determined Phillips 66 is the most credible bidder which can provide a viable future for this site. The sale is expected to complete in the first half of 2026.
As I set out in DESNZ Orals on 6 January 2025, the government is not responsible for the decommissioning liabilities, these will be for Phillips 66 as part of the sale.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many onshore wind turbines have been constructed in the UK in each of the last five years; and how much funding his Department has provided for onshore wind.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This information is available via the Renewable Energy Planning Database.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the projected cost is of achieving net zero by 2050, including costs to government, business and households.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Net zero is the economic and industrial opportunity of the 21st century. Since July 2024, over £60bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries.
The independent CCC estimates net costs of the transition to be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year, and this doesn't account for the wider growth benefits. The OBR's ‘Fiscal risks and sustainability report’ (2025) makes clear, meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the estimated total cost to households is of replacing gas boilers with heat pumps.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The cost to a household of replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump will depend on take-up of the available Government support, the size of the heat pump unit required and any ancillary works such as replacing radiators.
Data on voucher redemptions under the BUS is available at: BUS monthly scheme update | Ofgem
Other support schemes are available for low-income households and social housing, and for eligible homes a heat pump installation may be supported at no cost to the household.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the public purse, (b) businesses and (c) households of meeting net zero by 2050.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. Meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. The Climate Change Committee estimates the cost of meeting net zero targets will be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year and the OBR estimates the cost of failing to deal with climate change will be 5% of UK GDP per year
The 0.2% cost also does not take into account the wider beneficial growth impacts of net zero investment. Since July 2024, £52bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries
The OBR is clear that the costs of climate damage are getting higher, while the cost of the net zero transition is getting lower. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of renewable energy equipment installed in the UK was manufactured in China.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold data on what proportion of renewable energy equipment installed in the UK was manufactured in China.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
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 (a) solar radiation management initiatives and (b) other Government-funded geoengineering research projects on (i) the environment and (ii) public health; and whether he plans to (A) consult and (B) seek Parliamentary approval before any large-scale experimentation is undertaken.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification.
Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to prioritise the use of agrivoltaics in approved solar farms on agricultural land classified as best and most versatile.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar energy can be an important way for farmers to increase their revenue from land less suited to higher-value crop production. For example, a number of solar farms have combined solar with livestock grazing. The emerging science of agrivoltaics is developing innovative ways for solar to be integrated with arable farming. The Solar Taskforce has been looking at the use of innovative technologies, and findings will be published in the Solar Roadmap soon.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many staff in his Department are responsible for (a) processing and (b) responding to Freedom of Information Act requests; and if he will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of this work.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not have a specific number of staff tasked with processing and responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. On receipt, FOI requests are allocated to officials in the area of the Department relevant to the subject of the request, who then provide the response.
The Department’s Information Rights Team (IRT) provides advice and assistance to staff on the application of information rights legislation. The IRT consists of seven members of staff.
FOI requests vary considerably from case-to-case in terms of complexity and effort required to provide a response. It is not possible to estimate the annual cost of responding to all the FOI requests the department receives.