Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether investment to support the manufacture of wind turbine jackets will be included in the Green Industries Growth Accelerator.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has committed £1.1 billion to the Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support the expansion of domestic green manufacturing capacity and strengthen clean energy supply chains. At Spring Budget, we announced provisional allocations of up to £390 million for offshore wind and networks, up to £390 million for carbon capture, utilisation and storage and hydrogen and up to £300m to support domestic production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for nuclear fuel.
The Government is conducting engagement with industry on the design of the Accelerator and more detail on eligibility and how to apply for funding will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Sikorsky-92 model helicopters have been licensed to operate in the UK offshore energy sector in each year since 2013.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As of 1 March 2024, there are 26 Sikorsky-92 aircraft licensed to operate in the UK oil and gas offshore sector, with their status being either ‘in service’ or ‘in storage’. Data for previous years has been taken as a snapshot as at 1 March for consistency: 29 (2023), 32 (2022), 29 (2021), 37 (2020), 36 (2019), 38 (2018), 43 (2017), 35 (2016), 32 (2015), 22 (2014) and 17 (2013).
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether funding will be made available through the Green Industries Growth Accelerator for the manufacture of wind turbine jackets.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has committed £1.1 billion to the Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support the expansion of domestic green manufacturing capacity and strengthen clean energy supply chains. At Spring Budget, government announced provisional allocations of up to £390 million for offshore wind and networks, up to £390 million for carbon capture, utilisation and storage and hydrogen and up to £300m to support domestic production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for nuclear fuel.
Government is conducting engagement with industry on the design of the Accelerator and more detail on eligibility and how to apply for funding will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to report entitled Financing the Future: Energy, published by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association on 26 February 2024, what steps her Department plans to take to encourage private capital investment in green energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK saw £60bn of investment in 2023, meaning that since 2010 the UK has seen £300bn of public and private investment into low carbon sectors. The Powering Up Britain Plan, backed by substantial government funding, seeks to attract private capital for green energy.
We've bolstered investor confidence with announcements on the UK Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) sector and the Hydrogen Strategy. In December 2023, we unveiled Europe's largest simultaneous commercial-scale green hydrogen projects, supporting 125MW in the inaugural Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1).
We’ve allocated over £1 billion for the flagship Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme's Allocation Round 6 (AR6) and £1.1 billion to the Green Industries Growth Accelerator, to support the expansion of domestic green manufacturing capacity and strengthen clean energy supply chains.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of infrastructure in the UK to (a) capture carbon from woody biomass burning at scale and (b) transport and store carbon dioxide.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of the cluster sequencing process, the Department has previously undertaken assessments of the potential CCUS capabilities of industrial clusters across the UK. The guidance and eligibility criteria for these assessments is available on gov.uk. The UK holds an estimated 78 billion tonnes of theoretical CO2 storage capacity in the UK continental shelf.
Whilst Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is not currently operating at scale in the UK, a 2021 evaluation of greenhouse gas removal technologies found BECCS to be at a technology readiness level of six out of a possible nine.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's consultation on a transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass generators, published on 18 January 2024, what steps she has taken to ensure that the subsidies proposed in that consultation would not allow biomass companies to receive subsidies without capturing any carbon.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The consultation on potential transitional support arrangements for large scale biomass generators is with the express intention of facilitating their transition to power BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) in future, which will deliver valuable negative carbon emissions.
Subsidies under the future power BECCS business model are not considered within the scope of this consultation on potential transitional support.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing business rate relief to premises which are transitioning to reached energy performance certification levels of C and above.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the government announced new business rates support for green technology to support the decarbonisation of buildings. This means that eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and electricity storage are now exempt from business rates. This came into effect on 1 April 2022, and will last until 2035. Furthermore, to incentivise businesses investing in their properties, from 1 April 2024, no business will face higher business rates bills as a result of qualifying improvements to a property they occupy for 12 months.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's consultation on a transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass generators, published on 18 January 2024, for what reason 31 March 2024 was chosen as the deadline for any party who considers they may be eligible for transitional support to contact her Department.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Biomass plays a key role in delivering a more secure, clean energy sector. Capturing emissions from power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage can remove significant volumes of CO2 from the atmosphere and support our net zero ambitions.
The date by which we have asked generators who consider they may be eligible to contact us is in line with the timeframes for potential negotiations which is outlined in the consultation. Any future formal eligibility assessment, subject to the outcome of the consultation, will be set out in the government response.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she made of the potential implications for the proposals in her Department's consultation entitled Transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass electricity generators, published on 18 January 2024, of the recommendation on page 142 of the report by the Climate Change Committee entitled Biomass in a low-carbon economy, published on 15 November 2018.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is consulting on a possible transitional support mechanism to support the transition of large-scale biomass generators to power BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage). The Government values Power BECCS as a vehicle for delivering significant volumes of CO2 removals to support our Carbon Budgets and Net Zero targets. We will continue to consider relevant recommendations from the CCC and other parties when determining next steps; no decision has been taken at this stage.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had discussions with Petroineos on the potential merits of Grangemouth oil refinery transitioning to biofuel.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State met with executives at Petroineos on 23 November 2023 to discuss options for the future of the site, long term fuel security for Scotland, and consideration of jobs at the site.
The Government remains committed to energy transition projects across the UK, backing the North Sea oil and gas sector and green industries such as offshore wind and carbon capture and storage, to attract investment and create opportunities for communities in Scotland. Measures like the Forth Green Freeport include the port at Grangemouth, which will enable multiple manufacturing and green initiatives.
Any potential decisions regarding future energy projects at the site are a private commercial matter.