Marine Renewables Industry Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Tracy Gilbert
Main Page: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)Department Debates - View all Tracy Gilbert's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
(2 days, 7 hours ago)
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Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing this important debate.
I want to begin by talking about the exciting link between the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency, and Orkney and Shetland. Nova Innovation, based in Leith, has a very simple mission: to be a global leader in marine energy, delivering clean, predictable energy across the world. In 2016, it installed the world’s first offshore tidal array in Bluemull sound, in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency, and ever since then the array has went from strength to strength. Three turbines were installed in 2016, a fourth in 2020, and a fifth and sixth two years ago. That installation is not just the world’s first offshore tidal array; it now has the largest number of tidal turbines anywhere in the world. In last year’s contracts for difference allocation round, Nova secured contracts to deliver 6 MW of tidal energy at the Fall of Warness site in Orkney. It is innovating at pace and is demonstrating the potential for tidal and new marine renewables to deliver energy security, and to help with the sprint to clean power.
It is essential that the Government support and guide marine renewables—first, by setting a 1 GW tidal stream target by 2035, which would send a signal to industry about their support and ambition. I am keen to hear from the Minister what consideration the Government have given to putting in place such a target.
Secondly, GB Energy could help to harness the potential for tidal power here and across the globe. Nova in my constituency has demonstrated that the technology can work, and our tides and sea mean that we have 11 GW potential domestically. If GB Energy took equity stakes in tidal stream projects, those projects could be scaled up not only to benefit from that 11 GW earlier, but to build up domestic manufacturing, domestic supply chains and to deliver jobs. I appreciate that there is smaller demand for tidal overall than for other renewable sources, but at present 8% of the tidal supply chain is in the UK.
Thirdly, we need to speed up the consent process, and I welcome the decisions taken by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in that regard. Stakeholders have expressed their dismay to me that, although Canada can secure consent and start construction within two years and France can do similar within three, the process can take up to a decade in the UK. I am concerned that if the timescales cannot improve, we will fritter away our competitive advantage not just with marine renewables but across a large number of established and innovative technologies. I appreciate that consenting is devolved to Scotland; the Minister knows that I have raised the unacceptably long process for consent decisions with the Energy Consents Unit and Marine Scotland, and I would welcome an update on the recent discussions he has had with Scottish Ministers on consenting.
I hope that the Government will listen to today’s debate and fully back marine renewables, and that in the future there will be a stronger link between Edinburgh North and Leith, and Orkney and Shetland, with more tidal energy generated.