Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 (a) South Northamptonshire and (b) other local authorities to improve grid connections for clean energy projects under the Connections Accelerator Service.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Clean energy projects in South Northamptonshire and other local authorities will benefit from ongoing reforms to the grid connection process which will release up to 500GW of capacity from the queue, enabling accelerated connections for schemes that are ready to progress and aligned with our strategic needs, as set out in the Clean Power Action Plan.
As set out in the Industrial Strategy, the Connections Accelerator Service will support demand projects to connect to the grid, including prioritising those that create high-quality jobs and bring the greatest economic value.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 long-term fire risk associated with lithium-ion battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government considers that the safety risks posed by BESS are small and well managed under the robust regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This framework requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.
The safety standards framework for BESS is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Government, working alongside the industry-led Electricity Storage Health and Safety Governance Group, will continue to monitor events in the sector to ensure that a robust framework is sustained.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to publish a national register of safety (a) incidents and (b) near-misses involving battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not plan to publish a national register of safety incidents and near-misses involving battery energy storage systems (BESS). However, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed a publicly available database of global BESS failure incidents. The EPRI database can be accessed here: https://storagewiki.epri.com/index.php/BESS_Failure_Incident_Database
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department is providing for rural households to transition to low-carbon heating systems.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of our Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency measures, including those in rural communities.
This includes supporting property owners in England and Wales through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, offering grants up to £7,500 for heat pumps and £5,000 for biomass boilers. This also includes £1.8 billion to support low-income households through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
Additional support is also provided through the Energy Company Obligation which offers insulation and low-carbon heating to GB households.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the safety of Battery Energy Storage Systems used for solar farms located close to rural communities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government considers that the safety risks posed by BESS are small and well managed under the robust regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This framework requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.
The safety standards framework for BESS is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Government, working alongside the industry-led Electricity Storage Health and Safety Governance Group, will continue to monitor events in the sector to ensure that a robust framework is sustained.