Electricity: Decarbonisation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateViscount Hanworth
Main Page: Viscount Hanworth (Labour - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Viscount Hanworth's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(1 year, 8 months ago)
Lords ChamberWe will be setting out further plans on the matter in due course. I remind the noble Baroness that, during 2021, almost 55% of electricity generated in the UK came from low-carbon sources. We have an ambitious target of rolling out 50 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, and we have an excellent record in this area.
Have the Government thought further about small modular nuclear reactors, which could come online much sooner than the EPR nuclear reactor proposed for Sizewell? Moreover, SMRs could have significant export potential if they were to materialise in good time.
The noble Viscount is absolutely right—SMR technology is something that we are supporting. We have given hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of support to Rolls-Royce, which is looking actively at how it can roll that out. It has great potential for the future, both in this country and in its export capacity.