Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much the Drax power station has received in subsidies for burning wood in each of the last eight years; and if she will make an estimate of the amount of CO2 that was released from its chimneys in that period.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Information is only available on Drax’s support for electricity generation from all types of biomass, (including wood from sustainable sources) and on lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The figures in the table below give the value of the support under the Renewables Obligation scheme for generation from all the types of biomass used by Drax.
Year | Notional value of support under the Renewables Obligation[1] |
2015/16 | £548.1m |
2016/17 | £547.9m |
2017/18 | £399.2m |
2018/19 | £513.3m |
2019/20 | £508.9m |
2020/21 | £508.5m |
2021/22 | £619.7m |
2022/23 | £634.2m[2] |
From 2016 (the start of their support under the Contracts for Difference scheme) to 2023, Drax was paid £1.38bn in net difference payments. The details are published by the Low Carbon Contracts Company on their Data Portal[3].
Drax’s GHG emissions under the Renewables Obligation are available in Ofgem’s sustainability datasets[4]. For the Contracts for Difference scheme, Drax’s avoided GHG emissions are published by the Low Carbon Contracts Company on their Data Portal.
[1] Support under the Renewables Obligation is through tradeable certificates. The figures give the notional value of the support
[2] Provisional figure as all the certificates for 2022/23 may not have been issued yet.
[3] The Low Carbon Contracts Company’s Data Portal is at: https://dp.lowcarboncontracts.uk/dataset/actual-cfd-generation-and-avoided-ghg-emissions/resource/fa730219-fbd2-41b5-9510-ba2b0ff2c1ba
[4] Ofgem’s annual sustainability datasets are at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/renewables-obligation-ro/renewables-obligation-ro-suppliers/biomass-sustainability
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of retiring the Renewables Obligation Certificate scheme for landfill gas to energy generation sites by 2027 on methane emissions; and what steps her Department plans to take to increase methane capture rates at landfill sites.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not intend to extend the Renewables Obligation scheme beyond the end dates for support in 2027 and 2037, depending on when the generating station was accredited. However, finding efficient ways to re-use existing stations that otherwise might decommission could be important for reducing methane emissions, as recognised in the Biomass Strategy. The Government is exploring the most appropriate revenue support mechanism for repowering existing stations across all technology types where this delivers value to the consumer.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will extend the Renewables Obligation Certificate scheme beyond 2027 for existing landfill gas to energy generation sites.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not intend to extend the Renewables Obligation scheme beyond the end dates for support in 2027 and 2037, depending on when the generating station was accredited. However, finding efficient ways to re-use existing stations that otherwise might decommission could be important for reducing methane emissions, as recognised in the Biomass Strategy. The Government is exploring the most appropriate revenue support mechanism for repowering existing stations across all technology types where this delivers value to the consumer.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of retiring the Renewables Obligation Certificate scheme for landfill gas to energy generation sites by 2027 on the UK's energy security.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not intend to extend the Renewables Obligation scheme beyond the end dates for support in 2027 and 2037, depending on when the generating station was accredited. However, finding efficient ways to re-use existing stations that otherwise might decommission could be important for reducing methane emissions, as recognised in the Biomass Strategy. The Government is exploring the most appropriate revenue support mechanism for repowering existing stations across all technology types where this delivers value to the consumer.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to introduce revenue support mechanisms for existing landfill gas to energy generation sites beyond 2027.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not intend to extend the Renewables Obligation scheme beyond the end dates for support in 2027 and 2037, depending on when the generating station was accredited. However, finding efficient ways to re-use existing stations that otherwise might decommission could be important for reducing methane emissions, as recognised in the Biomass Strategy. The Government is exploring the most appropriate revenue support mechanism for repowering existing stations across all technology types where this delivers value to the consumer.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she will make it her Department's policy to end renewable subsidies for tree burning in power stations.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has no plans to remove support for biomass generating stations that are already supported under the Renewables Obligation (RO) and the Contract for Difference (CfD) schemes. Such generators undertook their investments in establishing their stations under these schemes and have a statutory right to their existing support.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many Renewable Obligation Certificates have been issued to hydroelectric power stations in Scotland since 2015, broken down by (a) the total over that period and (b) each year.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Renewables Obligation Certificates for stations in Scotland are issued under the Renewables Obligation Scotland scheme. That scheme is devolved to the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with OFGEM regarding the time taken to launch its investigation into allegations, first aired by BBC Panorama in October 2022, that Drax Power Limited was in breach of the Renewables Obligation Scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government engages regularly with Ofgem, as they are the Renewable Obligations Scheme’s scheme administrator. Ofgem has assured us that this matter is a priority for them and they are progressing the investigation at pace.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the response by Lord Callanan on 3 July (HL Deb col 984) that "the “Panorama” programme provided an inaccurate representation of practices by the forestry and biomass sector on the ground", what evidence they have for that assertion.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ officials engaged with forestry experts and relevant officials to understand the evidence about the claims made in the Panorama programme and found no evidence that biomass pellets used in the UK are unsustainable or were associated with forest destruction. In addition, as part of ongoing scheme compliance monitoring, Ofgem opened an additional assurance audit of Drax. Based on the evidence reviewed to date, Ofgem has not established any non-compliance that would affect the issue of Renewables Obligation Certificates to Drax.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect customers' interests by ensuring financial stability in the energy market.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem are acting to reduce the risk of energy suppliers failing, including quarterly stress testing to identify unsuitable business models and through new (proposed) capital adequacy requirements. These capital adequacy proposals would require domestic suppliers to hold a capital buffer to ensure that they are able to bear risks, improving the financial stability of the retail energy market.
Ofgem are also acting to reduce the costs which are mutualised when suppliers do fail, for example, requiring domestic suppliers to ringfence an environmental levy called the Renewables Obligation.