Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to Question 198502 on Geothermal Power: Southampton, what funding is available for a more detailed study to understand the full potential of heating available from the Wessex Basin Aquifer.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) provides grant funding to local authorities and select public and private sector organisations in England and Wales for heat network development. This support is available via bidding rounds. Up to 67% of the total eligible costs of a development stage is available, with the exception of project management costs, which may be fully funded by HNDU for public sector applicants and registered social landlords. Grant funding is provided to successful local authorities under Section 31 of the Local Government Act and other applicants under Section 98 of the National Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
Currently, Round 13 is open for applicants, closing on 31 December 2023.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the suitability of Southampton as a location for geothermal energy production.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department has funded feasibility studies to examine potential for heat network development in Southampton. Deep Geothermal has been identified as a potential heat source for heat networks which would supply consumers within the city. A more detailed study is required to understand the full potential of heating available from the Wessex Basin Aquifer, building on lessons learnt from the UK's first geothermal power scheme which supplied the Southampton District Energy Scheme. Funding is available to the public sector to explore this opportunity further.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the British Geological Society paper entitled the case for deep geothermal energy – unlocking investment at scale in the UK, published 17 July 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government commends the British Geological Society's work on this paper and welcomes its findings. The department is working on securing evidence to inform potential funding mechanisms and consider ways in which data can be better captured and shared across the industry. The Government engages with industry stakeholders so that any interventions unlock the potential role of deep geothermal energy in decarbonising heat, at an acceptable cost to consumers and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 using salt caverns below the former Royal Navy facility at Portland Port for (a) hydrogen and (b) natural gas storage.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Great Britain has eight natural gas storage facilities including five salt caverns. The Government will issue an update by the autumn on the role gas storage and other forms of flexibility play in security of supply.
The Government is exploring longer-term options and locations to store hydrogen. The UK has strong geological potential to store hydrogen in salt caverns and the Government is engaging with industry to understand the viability of proposed hydrogen storage projects.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 including (a) hydrogen and (b) natural gas storage technologies in salt caverns through the Energy Bill.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Great Britain has eight natural gas storage facilities including five salt caverns. The Government will issue an update by the autumn on the role gas storage and other forms of flexibility play in security of supply.
The Government is exploring longer-term options and locations to store hydrogen. The UK has strong geological potential to store hydrogen in salt caverns and the Government is engaging with industry to understand the viability of proposed hydrogen storage projects.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 support hydrogen storage technology.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The intended delivery of the Hydrogen Storage Business Model (HSBM) by 2025 will support the growth of the hydrogen economy.
The HSBM intends to provide investors with long-term revenue certainty to establish and scale up deployment of hydrogen storage infrastructure. The HSBM will help overcome key investment barriers such as high capital costs, lengthy development lead times and uncertain financial returns in a nascent market.
Following consultation, the Government published a position on the HSBM in August 2023.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 a recent assessment of the (a) efficiency and (b) reliability of ground source heat pumps in residential properties.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As part of the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project, the Department funded the installation of 38 ground source heat pumps in residential properties across the UK, with monitoring equipment to assess the performance of the systems in situ. The Government expects the final performance data from this project, including data on the ground source heat pumps installed, to be published after the project concludes, in summer 2024.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 effectiveness of geothermal energy in district heating network schemes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has not undertaken a general assessment of the effectiveness of geothermal energy for district heating in the UK due to the small number of operational geothermal district heating schemes. Case studies have been developed for several geothermal schemes across Europe, which demonstrate that geothermal heat can be an effective low carbon heat source for heat networks.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 taken recent steps to help increase investment in geothermal technologies.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government committed to “explore all possible renewable opportunities afforded by our geography and geology, including tidal and geothermal.”
Geothermal power has been an eligible electricity generating technology for the Contracts for Difference scheme since its introduction. The Government anticipates that geothermal power projects may bid into the scheme's emerging technologies pot of the fifth allocation round this year. The Government keeps the scheme under review and will consider the role of geothermal power in light of the results.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of domestic households that use (a) air source and (b) ground source heat pumps for their heating in Southampton Itchen constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that, as of 31st March 2023, 33 air source heat pump (representing 0.1% of domestic households) and no ground source heat pump installations were registered in the Southampton Itchen constituency.
The database does not include all heat pump installations. Those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.