Great British Energy Bill

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

It is an honour to welcome this Bill as it is moving forward, and I want to commend the leadership of the Secretary of State and the Energy Minister. To show such leadership so early on in the Parliament on such an important topic is really commended in my community.

My community of Bournemouth, and Britain, have suffered the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, driven by the energy shock that followed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This cost of living crisis has been a disaster for businesses. Typical energy bills have nearly doubled in the space of a year. It has been a disaster for family finances, with millions struggling with fuel poverty and many still facing enormous debts. It has been a disaster for public finances because the Government that we replaced left our country so unprepared. They were forced to spend an eye-watering £94 billion to support households with the cost of living—almost as much as our entire defence budget over the entire period. Because energy costs underpin economic performance, inflation soared, growth sputtered and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent inflation in the UK to over 10%, with a full third of that directly due to rising gas prices as a direct result of our vulnerability over the last 14 years.

We risk paying an even heavier price if we stay exposed to fossil fuels. We still depend on gas to generate more than a third of our electricity and to heat more than four out of five of our homes. No more. We must make sure that we are energy secure, and we must be able to bring down our bills. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned about our exposure to surges in energy prices, and the potential costs to bill payers, taxpayers, consumers and businesses alike. The OBR now estimates that another fossil fuel price shock would cost the economy 2% to 3% of our GDP in the 2030s.

The crisis is not over. It still casts a long shadow and we cannot go on like this. We must learn the lessons, and the fastest way to reduce our vulnerability is to end our dependence on volatile global fossil fuels. The cheapest way to meet our energy needs is to enhance our home-grown renewables and British-based nuclear. I was intrigued to hear the Conservative spokesperson, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), saying that this Government want to go slow on nuclear, so I have to ask: what nuclear projects were built over the last 14 years of the Conservative Government and five Prime Ministers? What small modular reactors actually moved ahead? What did those Prime Ministers do with the investment and the work that developers wanted to bring forward? Nothing. Our nuclear industry has been starved of funding and attention, but no more. When the energy is produced here and consumed here, Britain is protected against the volatile international markets that send our bills soaring.

The Climate Change Committee’s report, published two weeks after the Labour Government came into office, laid bare the true reality of energy policy under the last Conservative Government. It states:

“Last year…the previous Government signalled a slowing of pace and reversed or delayed key policies”.

We did not hear about that from the right hon. Member for East Surrey. It also stated that

“announcements were given with the justification that they will make the transition more affordable for people, but with no evidence backing this claim”.

We did not hear anything about that. The assessment of the committee was that

“only a third of the emissions reductions required…are currently covered by credible plans”

by the previous Government. We did not hear anything about that. That is this Labour Government’s inheritance, for a target that has to be achieved in just five years’ time. Britain is way off track to hit our 2030 international target of a 68% reduction in emissions. That is why the Government are in a hurry, and it is why they introduced the Bill so early in this Parliament.

In the five years ahead, our big challenges will be building an energy system at speed and supporting people through the energy transition. We need to demonstrate the benefits of the infrastructure we are building and make sure that host communities benefit in return. When we ask our communities to host this infrastructure, I am confident that they will say yes. They will do so on behalf of our nation. They will do so for cheaper bills in the long run, for good jobs that pay well and to benefit our communities.

National Grid estimates that five times as many pylons and underground lines will need to be constructed by 2030 than in the past 30 years. Underground cables cost six to 10 times more than overground cables. If part of our challenge is to cut bills and to reduce overall costs in a time of scarcity, we must be willing to invest in our infrastructure.

The faster we go, the more secure we become. Every wind turbine we erect, every solar panel we install and every piece of grid we construct will help our families and protect them from future energy shocks. Conversely, every wind turbine blocked, every solar farm rejected and every piece of grid left unbuilt will make us less secure and more exposed.

The faster we go, the better our economy will work for working people by creating a new generation of good jobs that finally pay decent wages in our industrial heartlands. Labour Members do not seek deindustrialisation; we seek decarbonisation. And decarbonisation will be achieved through reindustrialisation and the creation of good green jobs. The faster we go, the more we will be early movers and lead the world in new technologies. Why should these jobs be created in Pennsylvania or Shanghai? Let us create them in Bournemouth and across our country. And the faster we go, the more we can tackle our climate challenge. This is no longer a future threat. It is right here, right now, and we need to be able to tackle it.

Over the past few years, the race for jobs and the industries of the future has accelerated across the world. For too long, our country has been opted out of that race against our will. We have lost out, and our communities have fallen behind. Pay has not kept pace, and jobs have not been created on the scale needed. Why did the previous Government allow other countries to lead in these industries and clean jobs? Why did they not bet on our country and our potential?

I am delighted to see this Bill make progress. I commend Ministers for introducing it, and I look forward to seeing true investment in our green industries and the jobs of the future.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I rise to support amendment 5, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings), to require a statement of strategic priorities on the facilitation of community-based clean energy schemes.

Energy supply is the second largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas emissions, making up 20% of carbon emissions in 2022. Community energy should play a key role in reducing this and in helping the UK to meet its net zero targets. Community energy projects have positive impacts on equality, social cohesion and economic opportunity. We must therefore encourage local communities to take ownership of energy production. This way, we can ensure that decisions are taken in the best interests of local communities, and in collaboration with them, to better meet their needs.

The local economic benefits are clear, with community energy businesses in 2021 raising £21.5 million of investment for new projects and spending £15 million of community energy income to boost local economies. Community energy schemes currently produce just 0.5% of UK electricity but, according to studies by the Environmental Audit Committee, this could grow twentyfold over the next 10 years.

My constituency has seen the benefit of community energy schemes, with Avalon Community Energy in Street and South Somerset Community Energy in Wincanton providing services to the local area. Avalon is currently focused on delivering the clean energy project as one of the projects that make up the Glastonbury town deal. The £2 million project will develop renewable energy and carbon saving for the community. It is currently estimated that the project will save around 1,000 tonnes of carbon per year, and there will be an annual revenue surplus of over £100,000, some of which will be used for ongoing local community benefits. South Somerset Community Energy has installed three solar panels on the roof of Stanchester academy in Stoke-sub-Hamdon. Those solar panels produce around 100,000 kWh of energy per year, at least 70% of which is used by the academy.

The Liberal Democrats want to support the expansion of community energy schemes by requiring large energy suppliers to work with community schemes to sell the power they generate to local customers. If the Government want to drive a clean energy revolution, community energy has to be part of that. Community energy schemes have the potential to power 2.2 million homes, to save 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ a year and to create over 30,000 jobs. The Government have sadly neglected community energy provisions in the original Bill, as many of my Liberal Democrat colleagues have and will outline. That is a major missed opportunity.

Engagement and consultation with local communities is crucial if GB Energy is to be a success. GB Energy should also provide communities who host renewable energy infrastructure with the ability to realise community benefits from that. I have spoken on this point at length over recent weeks, because it is crucial if we are to boost the much-needed roll-out of renewable energy, particularly in areas like Glastonbury and Somerton. Communities must be part of the process. They have a critical role to play and a voice that must be heard. Through engagement, we can deliver clean energy, increase social cohesion and allow communities to invest in their place.

For the reasons I have laid out, I will be supporting the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire, and I urge the House to do the same.

Renewable Energy: Cornwall

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jayne Kirkham]

Absolutely—scaling up and providing the skills that are required need to be done extremely quickly. It is a race against time to remove the barriers and kick-start those projects; then, the Crown Estate, the Government and GB Energy must work together to provide a feasible timeline of contracts for difference and leasing rounds, as well as doing the groundwork by investing in the surveys and the infrastructure, such as cabling and the grid, so that investors will come on board.

Our Cornish ports and harbours, such as Falmouth, are well placed to support floating offshore wind, with well-established marine engineering solutions, servicing, assembly and maintenance. They also have a huge role to play in decarbonising shipping and defence.

This Government have already ended the de facto ban on onshore wind, and have plans for doubling onshore wind, trebling solar and quadrupling offshore wind, as well as reforming the planning system. With Cornish Lithium’s Hard Rock plant recently designated a nationally significant site of strategic infrastructure, planning could be streamlined and fast-tracked. GB Energy has been working with the Crown Estate to invest in the infrastructure that will make floating offshore wind happen and provide the certainty to draw in investment. Our new local power plan will provide £3.3 billion for grants and loans for those local energy projects—the biggest expansion in community-owned energy in history. This will enable communities to own—in the realest sense—the energy they rely on and allow local authorities, such as Cornwall, to exploit the energy sources on our doorstep, like the geothermal assets on council land that could be heating homes.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is giving an excellent speech in which she is once again standing up for her communities and clean power. Does she agree that the cost of living crisis—the worst in a generation, driven by the energy shock—will cast a long shadow for as long as we remain exposed to fossil fuels, and that we must embrace British-based nuclear and Cornwall renewables? The faster we go, the more secure we become. On the point about ground source heat pumps, can she say a little about Kensa, which manufactures heat pumps in Cornwall? I was privileged to see its heat pumps last week at the Sutton Dwellings in Chelsea. They are an amazing technology.

[Jayne Kirkham]

Yes, of course. I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to that business, which is on the edge of my constituency. I agree that we have to embrace all sorts of energy sources—the urgency is definitely there. Kensa is one of the largest manufacturers of ground source heat pumps in Europe, but it is currently stymied by regulation and the future homes standard. Hopefully it will be able to grow in the future.

Big challenges still remain. We need to get ready for floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea; there is a risk of places such as Cornwall losing out if we are not prepared. The grid network unites renewables businesses in Cornwall because of the capacity of the distribution network, which is a key barrier and constraint to growth. There is a lack of capacity and a slow speed, and the main grid stops at Indian Queens, which is only half-way into Cornwall. We need to upgrade those transmission and distribution networks. There are significant delays to accessing grid connections for projects such as onshore charging, the energy required by the potential new Kensa factory, and tin and lithium mining.

The National Energy System Operator is newly nationalised. There will be a connections action plan to decrease the time it takes to get connected to the grid. We will need to front-load the work, do the surveys, and lay the cables to plug in all those power sources. There is currently no strategic national plan for that infrastructure.

Vital plans to lay floating offshore wind cables, and the previous Government’s miserly £160 million FLOWMIS—the floating offshore wind manufacturing investment scheme—fund for ports, were awarded with no national strategy in place. The current Government has a £1.8 billion ports fund, which is welcome. However, the French Government have just put €900 million into the port of Brest—that is the equivalent of half our entire national ports fund for the next ten years invested in just one French port. We need a coherent plan for our ports.

One of the test and demonstration models is being held up by planning, as are other projects. We need to look at planning, as well as at the huge number of skilled workers who are needed but lacking for renewables in the energy sector and to retrofit for the warm homes plan.

The Crown Estate has partnered with Falmouth marine school to pay for children aged 14 to 16 from Helston community college to receive level 2 engineering training in the sphere of offshore wind. That is a pilot; there is no ongoing funding. It is great, but it will not address the massive skills gap. We need a huge scale-up. We have great local further education providers—Truro and Penwith college and Cornwall college—but they need the ability to scale up in conjunction with the industry.

There is no national oversight of the map around the country of floating offshore wind for the future, no timescale for “test and demos”, and no pipeline of contracts with the Crown Estate to build the Celtic sea out so that the investors have certainty. We can use contractual tie-ins with the lease, and we can use procurement, but national coordinated action is needed now. We also need new domestic production targets for critical minerals.

We are ready to be the multi-renewable power production capital of the UK. It is a vision of vast scale, which is not without challenges, but it shows that Cornwall is crucial because of what we offer, rather than what we need. It is time for us to step up and become the multi-renewable power production capital of the UK.

Nuclear Industry: Cumbria

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr Brash). I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) for securing the debate.

To meet our growing energy needs and prevent the catastrophic costs of climate change, we need nuclear alongside renewables. It is that simple. With nuclear power, more jobs will be highly skilled, well paid and unionised, and here I commend the dedicated and consistent work of the GMB union over many years.

If ever anyone wanted to see the difference between our new Government and the last, nuclear power is a good place to start. The Conservatives may talk a good game about nuclear power, but I note that not a single Conservative Member of Parliament is sitting on the Opposition Benches. Fourteen years of Conservative rule have got us nowhere. No nuclear plants were built, despite a positive inheritance of 10 approved nuclear sites from the last Labour Government. David Cameron sent Horizon in Wales and NewGen in Cumbria to the wall—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. I gently remind the hon. Member, who should sit when I am standing, that the debate is specifically titled “Nuclear Industry: Cumbria”, and he might like to confine his comments to Cumbria.

[Tom Hayes]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Just to repeat, David Cameron sent Horizon in Wales and NewGen in Cumbria to the wall. George Osborne begged the Chinese to invest in nuclear power, and we are now unpicking his mistake. Theresa May proceeded to pause Hinkley Point C, nearly killing it off, and Sizewell with it. Boris Johnson may have shown some love to nuclear, but what came of it? Thankfully, Liz Truss was in power for too short a time to do any more damage, and the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak) focused only on small modular reactors in the dying days of his Government.

It is important to spell out the ways in which Conservative Prime Ministers have done such damage to nuclear across our country, because they have therefore stymied the development of nuclear in Cumbria. As my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington has said, it is important that we proceed with plans there. The last Conservative Government had 14 years and a multitude of nuclear projects to sign off, with developers desperate to build. Right now, we could be building Hinkley, NewGen, Sizewell and small modular reactors, as we were just hearing. Instead, two projects were collapsed, there was endless talk about the financing of Sizewell instead of building it and practically nothing was done about small modular reactors.

Turning narrowly to Sizewell C, I am delighted by this Labour Government’s commitment and determination to reach a final investment decision as soon as possible. Investing in nuclear is not just right for our country; it is right for all our communities. It can affect not just our current generation, but generations to come. Our mission—Labour’s mission—is not just about reducing damage from fossil fuels for the benefit of all; it is about our hopes for a better future, and I am pleased that they rest in large part on the prospect of British nuclear power.