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  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the capacity of overall UK electricity output to meet peak demand of the proposed Hinkley Point C power station not coming into operation in 2023.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Our number one priority is to ensure that hardworking families and businesses have access to secure, affordable energy supplies that they can rely on. We’re addressing a legacy of underinvestment to make sure we keep powering the economy now and into the future

    The Capacity Market is our principal tool for ensuring we have enough capacity to meet peak demand in future. Resources which receive forms of low-carbon support such as Contracts for Difference (CFDs) do not participate in the Capacity Market auctions, but each auction is based on an updated estimate of capacity requirements four years ahead, taking account of the latest evidence on the future availability of those other resources.

    The Capacity Market provides the mechanism for attracting sufficient investment in the overall level of reliable capacity (both supply and demand side) needed to provide secure electricity supplies. It brings forward new investment and gets the best out of existing assets by competitively setting a price for capacity through annual auctions.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what decommissioning provision is allowed within the proposed strike rate of £92.50/MWh for the electricity from the proposed Hinkley Point C power station.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The decommissioning costs for the Hinkley Point C power station, together with the waste management and waste disposal costs, account for £2-£3/MWh of the strike price.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to enable the establishment of a market in 100 per cent sustainable timber by 2020.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implement the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.

    The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

    Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings her Department has had with representatives of (a) the Taxpayers’ Alliance, (b) the Confederation of British Industry, (c) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) the Adam Smith Institute, (e) the Freedom Association, (f) the Politics and Economic Research Trust and (g) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Details of meetings between Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the Departmental website at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/ministers-meeting-with-external-organisations.

    “

  • Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of proposed changes to the feed-in-tariff on solar firms and small businesses in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) the North West and (c) the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Our consultation on the feed-in tariff review reflects the need to balance sector support whilst keeping bills down for consumers.

    We strongly welcome evidence from the sector during this review consultation, which ends on 23 October.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will support an EU-wide ban on single-use plastic carrier bags.

    Anna Soubry

    The EU Carrier Bags Directive (EU 2015/720) already requires all member states to take measures to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags and provides for marketing restrictions such as bans.

  • Mark Menzies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Menzies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that new housing developments are powered by renewable energy sources.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Building Regulations set demanding energy performance targets for new buildings, but without prescribing the materials or technologies to be used. This approach gives builders the freedom to innovate and to choose the most practical and cost-effective solutions for individual projects.

    The standards were strengthened most recently in April 2014, to a level that means builders increasingly have to consider the use of renewable technologies in their designs. These could be solar panels, or they could be other types of renewable such as heat pumps and combined heat and power (CHP) boilers – which might be more acceptable in conservation areas.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the consistency of its policies on subsidies for renewable energy and for fossil fuels with current and proposed international climate change targets.

    Andrea Leadsom

    This Government remains committed to meeting the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%, on 1990 levels, by 2050. This remains in line with our contribution to the international effort to limit global warming to below 2 degrees.

    We, also, continue to make progress towards our EU 2020 Renewable Target with provisional figures showing that 7.0% of final energy consumption was met from renewable sources in 2014. We are also on track to meet our EU 2020 energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

    We continue to support the deployment of renewable energy in our future energy mix:

    • Electricity: The introduction of Contracts for Difference will give companies long term revenue certainty whilst driving down the cost for consumers through competition.
    • Heat: Under existing renewable heat schemes, the Government has supported around 40,000 homes and 12,000 businesses, schools, farms and other organisations with new renewable heating systems.
    • Transport: The Government is investing £500million over the next 5 years in making ultra-low emission vehicles more accessible to families and businesses across the country.

    It is vital to ensure security of supply and that the lights stay on, therefore fossil fuels will continue to play an important part in our future energy mix. The 2012 Carbon Plan noted that we will still need significant oil and gas supplies while we decarbonise our economy and transition to a low carbon economy, with projections showing that in 2030 oil and gas will remain a vital part of the energy mix, providing around 70% of the UK’s primary energy requirements.

    The Government is seeking an ambitious, legally binding,global climate change deal in Paris in December that keeps the goal of limiting average global emissions to limit global warming to below 2 degrees within reach.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to commit her Department to a long-term energy efficiency programme for buildings including the provision of solid wall insulation during this Parliament in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change set out in its 2015 Progress Report to Parliament.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is committed to working closely with industry and consumer groups on a new value for money approach to the future policy framework for energy efficiency, learning lessons from past approaches. Alongside its specific manifesto commitment of supporting low cost measures on energy efficiency with the goal of insulating a million more homes over the next five years, supporting our commitment to tackle fuel poverty, this Government is also committed to keeping energy bills as low as possible as part of a long-term, coherent and affordable policy framework. That framework, which will take full account of our legally binding commitments on climate change and on fuel poverty, will focus on enabling consumers to take up the measures that are right for them and their home, whether solid wall insulation or other measures. We are soon to see Peter Hansford’s Review on Solid Wall Insulation for the Green Construction Board and that will help inform policy affecting the technology as will the recommendations from the Committee on Climate Change.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on jobs and income in the solar power industry of the recent change in policy on subsidies for that industry.

    Andrea Leadsom

    BIS’s report “The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy” estimated that in 2013 there were over 34,000 jobs in the UK solar sector.

    Our consultation on the feed-in tariff review reflects the need to balance sector support whilst keeping bills down for consumers.

    We strongly welcome evidence from the sector during this review consultation, which ends on 23 October.