Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has plans to support the expansion of the offshore wind industry to the north Wales coast.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government remains firmly committed to the renewables industry across the UK, including in Wales. Future Contracts for Difference auctions will provide further opportunities for developers of low-carbon electricity projects in Wales to secure contracts and expand the amount of offshore wind capacity supported by the scheme in Wales.
One of the successful projects in the Crown Estate’s Round 4 seabed leasing is located off the North-East of Anglesey.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a grant for those on the Island of Anglesey who rely on domestic heating oil or liquified natural gas in order to connect them to the mains gas supply.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Meeting the UK’s net zero target will require virtually all heat in buildings to be decarbonised. The Government is working with the Welsh Government (and the other devolved administrations) to address the challenges of decarbonising heating. This includes building the evidence to support a decision on the future use of the gas grid.
The Government is aware of the programme of local area energy planning underway in Wales, which will identify the changes needed to the local energy system to decarbonise heat and local transport, support strategic network planning and realise opportunities for local renewable energy production.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on the development of floating offshore wind projects.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
BEIS officials engage in regular discussions with Devolved Administrations, including the Welsh Government, on matters of mutual interest. The Celtic Sea constitutes a major development opportunity for the offshore wind sector and is set to create significant opportunities for development in Wales.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase investment in the development of (a) onshore and offshore wind, (b) tidal energy, (c) solar power, (d) hydrogen power and (e) other renewable energy sources.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the Government’s main mechanism for supporting renewable generation in Great Britain. The latest round is the largest yet and will support technologies including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, tidal and floating offshore wind. The next CfD round will be held in March 2023, and future rounds will run annually, rather than every two years, helping to drive deployment of renewable power.
The Government’s policy levers for hydrogen, including the Hydrogen Business Model, are designed to unlock significant private sector investment to reach the 10GW by 2030 production ambition.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that payments made under the Smart Export Guarantee Scheme reflect the increase in prices for electricity that have been introduced under the new price cap.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer on 28 February to Question 125141.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure the five pence reduction in fuel duty announced in the Spring Statement is passed on to consumers and (b) monitor fuel prices at service stations.
Answered by Paul Scully
Drivers should be getting a fair deal for fuel across the UK. Healthy competition between forecourts is key to achieving this, with competition working to keep pressure on prices. The Government has asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to conduct an urgent review of the fuel market, as well as a longer-term market study under the Enterprise Act 2002, to explore whether the retail fuel market has adversely affected consumer interests. As part of this, the Government has asked for the CMA’s advice on the extent to which competition has resulted in the fuel duty cut being passed on to consumers and the reasons for local variations in the price of road fuel.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that supply chains for the (a) production and (b) distribution of diesel are not disrupted.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK remains well-supplied for diesel from a diverse range of sources. UK demand for diesel is met by a combination of domestic production and imports. In 2021 UK production could have met over half of our demand for diesel. Imports in the same year came from a diverse range of reliable suppliers beyond Russia including the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden.
BEIS monitors the fuel supply market to remain aware of current supply levels, and publishes weekly national average forecourt stock levels. There is no shortage of diesel in the UK.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the (a) generation and (b) adoption of cleaner methods of home heating.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the Heat and Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Government sets out actions for the reduction of emissions from buildings in the near and longer term. This includes a package of measures to reduce the costs of buying and running a heat pump and how the Government plans to scale up the deployment of heat pumps to 600,000 installations per annum by 2028. The new Boiler upgrade scheme, opened for grant applications 23 May, gives £5000 discounts towards installing a heat pump. The Government is also taking action to grow the market for heat networks and continues to invest in research for hydrogen heating.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to work with the Welsh Government to ensure that the national grid transmission network is upgraded to have the necessary capacity to transmit electricity from both small scale community generation and large scale renewable generation projects such as offshore wind.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government works closely with Ofgem and network companies to ensure there is necessary capacity for renewable generation in Wales and across Great Britain and is engaging with the Welsh Government on this. As part of the Government’s Offshore Transmission Network Review, the National Grid Electricity System Operator will publish a Holistic Network Design by June 30th, which will accommodate 1GW of floating offshore wind capacity in the Celtic Sea.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the British energy security strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of locating the headquarters of the Great British Nuclear Vehicle in North Wales in the context of the nuclear expertise in that area.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As part of the Government’s ambition to set up the Great British Nuclear Vehicle this year, officials are working to scope the functions of this entity – building on UK industrial strengths and expertise.
The UK has a proud nuclear tradition across many regions, with expertise to match. The Government continues to recognise the strong interest for nuclear power in North Wales and will consider all appropriate locations.