Great British Energy Bill

Debate between Wera Hobhouse and Llinos Medi

Report stage
Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wera Hobhouse]

I welcome that the Government are taking renewable energy investment seriously and creating a mechanism for it. In common with many Liberal Democrat Members, I will focus on amendment 5, which would specifically require Great British Energy to support community energy projects as part of its strategic priorities.

Labour Front Benchers have supported community energy for a long time, and cross-party support was clearly displayed on Second Reading, as it is by the large number of Members’ signatures on amendment 5. The same was true of my amendment 2, which was sadly defeated in Committee. To their credit, the previous Government introduced the community energy fund, which made a difference, but more needs to be done to support community energy. Despite strong cross-party support for community energy, the Great British Energy Bill makes no mention of it. Liberal Democrat Members believe that it should be on the face of the Bill.

In Committee, the Minister said that including community energy in the Bill was not appropriate. I understand that GB Energy is not precluded from supporting community energy by the Bill, just as I understand the Government’s argument that if the new company is to be able to work flexibly, it should not be hampered by too many provisions in the Bill. However, our concern remains that unless something concrete is included in the Bill, future Ministers, Governments or chief executives of Great British Energy may decide not to support community energy and the full benefits of local energy may not be realised. Amendment 5 would strengthen the Bill in line with the clear parliamentary consensus in support of growth in this highly promising clean energy sector.

The community energy sector has seen minimal growth in recent years. It has suffered from damaging policies, such as the end of the feed-in tariffs that helped fuel growth. Since 2010, there has been no growth in the sector. Regulatory changes are required to ensure that communities receive the benefits they deserve for hosting clean energy infrastructure. All of these arguments are well understood and the benefits of community energy have been well researched. The new Government have said time and again that they support community energy and that it is a shared aim.

I welcome the conversation and the open debate on this issue. I understand that the Government take issue with putting the term “priority” on the face of the Bill. The passage of the Bill has not reached its final stages, and there is room for further debate. I very much hope that the Government recognise how strongly colleagues across the House feel about including specific support for community energy, and that such an inclusion will create cross-party support for the Bill as a whole.

[Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)]

First, let me congratulate the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) on his passionate maiden speech.

I rise to speak to amendments 11 and 12, tabled in my name, which seek to provide certainty to particular energy sectors that they will be prioritised by GB Energy. I must declare an interest as an officer of the marine energy all-party parliamentary group, of which the UK Marine Energy Council is the secretariat.