Electricity Generation: Carbon Emissions

(asked on 6th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for investment in zero emissions electricity systems to stimulate economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, including (1) additional renewables capacity, (2) additional nuclear capacity, and (3) storage, transmission and distribution systems.


Answered by
Lord Callanan Portrait
Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 20th July 2020

In his speech of 30 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that in recovering from COVID-19, we must build back better, build back greener, build back faster, and to do that at the pace that this moment requires. Our economy must be cleaner, more sustainable, and more resilient.

Renewable and low carbon energy are important in the delivery of our Net Zero target and will help drive new jobs and growth across the UK.

The Government announced on 2 March 2020 that, in addition to offshore wind, onshore wind and solar projects can bid for contracts in the next Contracts for Difference allocation round planned for 2021. At the budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an ambitious support package for our low-carbon economy including £800 million funding to deploy the first carbon capture and storage cluster in the UK. These announcements reflect our commitment to reach our net zero target, through a sustainable, diverse, and resilient energy system and capture economic opportunities in doing so.

Nuclear power has the potential to play a key role in achieving net zero and as the Prime Minister noted in his 30 June speech is an important UK innovation sector. We consulted on a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) financing model to enable new nuclear projects last year and are considering the responses we received – we will publish our response in due course. We also awarded an initial £18m R&D grant, under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, to a Rolls-Royce led consortium developing an SMR design last year, with a decision to be taken on possibility of further grant of c.£200m later in 2020. Economic recovery post Covid-19 is clearly a new context in which future investment decisions will be taken.

Electricity storage has a key role to play in decarbonising our energy system. We are facilitating investment in storage through delivering the actions set out in the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan, including creating a best-in-class regulatory framework and reforming markets. Energy network regulation is a matter for Ofgem, as the independent regulator, and Ofgem is considering how the upcoming network price controls, for example, can help stimulate the recovery while delivering net zero at the lowest cost to consumers. Government will continue to engage with Ofgem on these issues.

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