Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits for the UK’s net-zero ambitions of extending the Contracts for Difference scheme to cover renewable energy projects in Northern Ireland.
Decarbonisation of Northern Ireland’s electricity system will play a key role in achieving the UK’s 2050 net zero targets. Energy policy is devolved to Northern Ireland. In a consultation earlier this year, the Department for the Economy (DfE) put forward a range of potential policies that could form the basis of Northern Ireland’s new Energy Strategy. This included a proposal to explore the possibility of extending the Contracts for Difference scheme to Northern Ireland. In this context, officials from BEIS and DfE are working together to consider the options.