Electricity and Gas Transmission (Compensation) Bill

Selaine Saxby Excerpts

Friday 25th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) on introducing the Bill. The transmission of electricity is at the heart of our energy security in the UK. Energy sources are an essential part of our move towards net zero, which is crucial if we are to limit the effects of climate change and insulate ourselves against shocks to the global energy market.

The south-west is a natural powerhouse, but the lack of efficient connections in the grid limits how much energy can be moved around the system. I have farmers in North Devon who have been working to install solar panels on their dairies, only to be prevented from connecting them because the national grid does not have enough capacity locally. Farmers who are working hard to provide the British public with high-quality British produce are being prevented from accessing more sustainable and secure forms of energy. That is contrary to what should be happening. Instead of putting in place barriers to the development of the national grid, we need to work on a strategy to increase capacity, while fully recognising the needs of landowners and people near to where that capacity may be installed.



The Celtic sea offers a fantastic opportunity to develop a significant amount of renewable energy for the UK. However, installing pylons should not be our default for increasing grid capacity. Undersea cables have been proven to work, with offshore wind sites and now with floating offshore wind. Residents along coasts in the UK have demonstrated their preference for a strategic offshore grid in place of pylon schemes. The effects of pylons on environmentally significant areas and areas of outstanding natural beauty are a concern, as they can damage the landscape and people’s access to the countryside—that is in addition to what we have seen in the horrific cases detailed by my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset. In North Devon, we are fortunate to have the UK’s oldest biosphere reserve, and to damage our biodiversity, outstanding landscapes or scientifically significant areas, such as Braunton Burrows, because of the lack of a strategy on how to upgrade our grid capacity effectively would be unforgivable. If we are considering a strategic offshore grid, we must ensure that it is installed sensitively.

We have made great strides towards a net zero future, but it is crucial that we do not unnecessarily disturb stored carbon. The ban on peat use in domestic gardening products recognises the benefits of keeping stored carbon in the peat, alongside the unique habitat that is provided to a diversity of species. As peat is the stored carbon of animals that died in wetlands millennia ago, carbon in our seabeds is stored from the marine lifecycle; phytoplankton photosynthesise and take carbon out of the atmosphere, and, through the lifecycle of the sea, it is ultimately stored in the seabed.

Storing carbon is one of the key pillars of reducing the effects of climate change. When we have incidents such as the recent methane gas leaks from the Nord Stream pipeline, which are estimated to release as much gas as one and a half days of global methane emissions, we need to ensure that we do not unnecessarily contribute to releasing stored fossil fuels. I would like budgets for installing an offshore strategic grid to include blue carbon when assessing how and where these cables could be installed, and I would like us to minimise blue carbon disruption through the use of cable corridors. There is much to celebrate as we develop an energy grid for the 21st century and beyond, but I very much hope that strategies and legislation will take into account our precious nature and landscapes, alongside increasing the capacity and efficiencies of our grid.