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Category: Energy

  • Claire Coutinho – 2023 Speech on UK’s Carbon Capture Opportunities

    Claire Coutinho – 2023 Speech on UK’s Carbon Capture Opportunities

    The speech made by Claire Coutinho, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in London on 17 October 2023.

    Good morning everyone, and a warm welcome to the Carbon Capture & Storage Association (CCSA) conference.

    A huge thank you to Ruth for everything that she’s done to put this together.

    It is genuinely a real pleasure to be here today to talk about the extraordinary opportunities for carbon capture that we have in this country.

    Two hundred years ago, Britain was instrumental in helping the world industrialise.

    It was our innovation, creativity, and global reach that spread the industrial revolution and transformed global economies.

    Today we have a different, but no less important, role to play – helping the world decarbonise.

    We’ve already cut our own carbon emissions in half in just 30 years and boosted our share of renewables from 7% in our energy output in 2010 to almost half today.

    Of all the major economies, we have set the toughest targets and thanks in no small part to our energy industry, we have exceeded all of them.

    But the challenges ahead are significant.

    How do we accelerate those reductions?

    How do we help other countries do the same?

    And how do we achieve it fast enough to put a brake on climate change?

    I passionately believe that the key to success will be doubling down on sectors with the greatest opportunities.

    The greatest opportunities to decarbonise, to help polluting industries go green and to boost jobs, investment and growth.

    And make no mistake, carbon capture and storage is one of those sectors.

    Britain’s vast potential means I believe we can lead the world in safely capturing and storing carbon dioxide.

    Creating a path for industries which cannot decarbonise at the pace we require – like cement and chemicals – to join the green revolution.

    And there are other compelling benefits.

    For example, CCUS will help ensure the reliability of electricity supplies, bolstering our future energy security and it will help regenerate communities across the country, particularly in our industrial heartlands and coastal communities where jobs and investment are most needed.

    Before Parliament, I spent a lot of time working with those communities which felt left behind and the prospect today of a new, multi-billion-pound cycle of investments in decarbonisation projects represents huge hope for the future.

    We have the right geology, the right infrastructure, and the right skills to be at the forefront of carbon capture and to lift other economies by cutting the cost of decarbonising.

    That’s why the government is making a massive commitment to this game-changing technology.

    The Prime Minister has made it abundantly clear in recent weeks that we need pragmatic answers to cut the carbon challenge.

    And there’s no better example of this than CCUS.

    Carbon capture and storage is pragmatism in action.

    What’s more common sense than taking advantage of our own geography to address one of the greatest threats facing mankind?

    That’s why we remain fully committed to:

    our unprecedented £20 billion for early deployment of the technology, among the biggest funding commitments in Europe
    the first 8 projects of the ‘first-of-a-kind capture networks’ we’ll be taking forward in the North East, North West and Wales
    and the next 2 carbon capture clusters in the North East and Scotland
    These announcements put us on track to achieve between 20 and 30 million tonnes of captured and stored carbon dioxide a year – the equivalent of taking 4 and 6 million cars off the road each year from 2030.

    If we make this target, it will support 50,000 jobs by 2030, and add £5 billion to the economy by 2050.

    Not only helping us deliver our net zero commitments but also creating prosperity throughout the UK.

    I was delighted to reach alignment with Eni on the key commercial principles to take Hynet forward, and I’m looking forward to working further with them to celebrate this important milestone.

    But of course we must look beyond the domestic implications of CCUS.

    CCUS will be a global industry, and to continue leading in this space we need to think beyond UK clusters.

    This also poses some key questions.

    Firstly, how do we deliver enough storage to make Carbon Budget 6 a reality?

    The North Sea Transition Authority estimates as much as 100 carbon stores will be needed to meet our net zero commitments.

    Well we have the space, and then some.

    With 78 billion tonnes of potential storage, the reality is the UK has the potential to be one of the greatest CO2 storage bases in Europe.

    But if we want to match that space to market need we’ll require a system level approach, creating a brand new network with new technical codes and contracts, with government and industry working together to achieve it.

    We will set out that ambition and I know for many of you this must include more clarity on timelines.

    I’ve spoken to lots of investors and stakeholders since I’ve been in this role and that has come out clearly.

    So my department will be publishing a vision for the CCUS sector later this year.

    This will provide a long-term picture of an expanding sector to bolster investor confidence.

    But the second question is no less important.

    How do we keep costs down? And therefore, how do we remain competitive?

    As the Prime Minister has made clear, we don’t get to net zero without honest conversation with the public.

    Part of that conversation is demonstrating that we have achieved the best value for money possible.

    We can’t separate the market and the path to net zero.

    Now, I recognise that costs have gone up, that the sector is dealing with materials price inflation.

    We’ve done everything we can to reduce costs in our economy.

    From the 10.7% inflation rate in the final 3 months of last year, the CPI is now down considerably in August and projected to fall further.

    But whatever the final rate for 2023, the imperative remains that we need you to innovate to drive cost reductions and deliver as much carbon stores for as little money as possible.

    In the longer-term, CCUS will not be successful unless we can demonstrate that the industry is self-sustaining.

    And we can do that together, building on the strong partnership that government and industry have developed over the last few years.

    If you help us to design viable business models, that will give businesses the confidence to invest in them.

    And we know that if these questions can be answered an immense prize is waiting for us.

    We can capture £8 billion of global CCUS turnover by 2050, and create thousands of jobs from the north-east of Scotland to Morecombe Bay, Wales and Humber.

    We can help Britain achieve energy security, so we are no longer at the whims of foreign regimes.

    And we can make an immense contribution to Britain achieving its carbon targets, and helping carbon-intensive industries join the green energy revolution.

    Without a doubt, carbon capture and storage stands among the most exciting and effective ways in which Britain can lead in tackling climate change.

    And ultimately, it’s the people in this room who have the capacity to make it happen.

    So let’s make it happen together.

    Thank you.

  • Ed Miliband – 2023 Speech at Labour Party Conference

    Ed Miliband – 2023 Speech at Labour Party Conference

    The speech made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in Liverpool on 9 October 2023.

    I want to thank my shadow ministerial team Sarah Jones, Kerry McCarthy, Jeff Smith and Alan Whitehead and it is a pleasure to follow my friend, our brilliant Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

    We meet here with confidence that there is a spirit of change in the air.

    We meet here with the conviction that we Labour are on the side of the British people once again.

    We meet here with the belief that we can bring the long dark night of Tory rule to an end.

    Listening to the Tories last week it’s clear that they just don’t get the fundamental struggles people are facing.

    A deeply painful cost of living crisis; A deeply entrenched economic crisis; And a deeply dangerous climate and nature crisis.

    And Rishi Sunak has a desperate and dishonest new line.

    That if we dither and delay in tackling the climate crisis we can somehow solve our economic problems.

    But friends, he’s wrong. He’s dead wrong.

    Their record says it all.

    Your energy bills have rocketed because they didn’t build a clean energy future and that left us exposed to Putin’s war

    They banned onshore wind and energy bills went up.

    They cut energy efficiency and bills went up again.

    And just last month they trashed offshore wind, the crown jewels of British energy and bills will stay UP for years to come.

    Every time they turn their back on a clean energy future, they leave us exposed to global fossil fuel markets, at the mercy of dictators and petrostates, and they drive up bills and make us more insecure.

    And even as you’re paying record bills, they still refuse a proper windfall tax on the oil and gas companies.

    So what the Tories call ‘green crap’ is not the cause of the cost of living crisis.

    It’s a crap government that will never stand up for working people.

    And when Rishi Sunak tells renters they should be forced to live in damp, cold homes and landlords don’t need to insulate them, that won’t cut bills, it will raise them.

    When he tells the world that Britain is backing off the global clean energy race, that won’t encourage businesses to create jobs and invest, it will drive them away.

    The Tories’ climate culture war is not just anti-planet.

    It’s anti-security, anti-prosperity, anti-worker, anti-business, anti-jobs, anti-future, anti-young people, and it’s anti-Britain.

    We’re not going to let these Tories cancel our country’s future.

    Now Sunak tries to spin that he’s still committed to tackling the climate crisis but look at the people celebrating what he’s done.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg, Liz Truss, and to top it all, Donald Trump congratulated him.

    The British people don’t want a pound shop Republican Party.

    They don’t want an energy policy written by Truss and Trump.

    Let’s send these Tories to where they belong.

    Let’s recycle them from government to opposition.

    And chuck them into the 7 dustbins of history.

    And let me say this: give me the integrity, decency and values of our leader and my friend Keir Starmer against the weakness of Rishi Sunak any day of the week.

    And I am proud that Keir’s 2030 mission is for the greatest investment in homegrown energy in British history.

    We’ll double onshore wind.

    We’ll treble solar.

    We’ll quadruple offshore wind.

    We’ll invest in nuclear and hydrogen and carbon capture and tidal power.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    And with a Labour government, Britain will finally have what the Tories have refused for 13 years— a proper warm homes plan.

    Saving hundreds more off your bill.

    Creating tens of thousands of good jobs.

    Lifting millions out of fuel poverty.

    Insulating 19 million homes.

    And who will make this happen?

    Labour local authorities.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    Tory energy policy has failed and let’s face it, Tory trickle-down economics has failed too.

    So we’re going to do things differently.

    Now some people will tell you we don’t have public ownership of energy in Britain.

    Of course, we do.

    It’s just by state-owned firms from other countries.

    France’s EDF, Sweden’s Vattenfall, Denmark’s Orsted.

    Other countries own nearly half of our offshore wind because they know it creates jobs and wealth for them.

    If it’s good enough for them why not us?

    Under Labour, the British people will own things again, build things again, profit as a country from these investments again.

    GB Energy, owned by the British people, built by the British people for the benefit of the British people.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    A key industry of the future is floating offshore wind.

    But just get this: under the Tories our largest floating wind farm wasn’t built in Britain.

    It was built in Spain, assembled in the Netherlands and then was towed into place off the Scottish coast.

    I say: not under Labour.

    GB Energy will invest in floating wind so Britain can lead the world.

    And as Rachel said this morning, we will ensure we have the grid we need and rewire our country.

    Power for Britain, wealth for Britain, jobs for Britain.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    And this is about a partnership to build the future: public investment unleashing private investment.

    Our national wealth fund will invest, alongside the private sector, in our ports, hydrogen and saving our steel industry and communities.

    And unlike with the Tories, this won’t be crumbs of help after change has blown through communities.

    It’s a proper plan to build our future prosperity for every part of Britain.

    Our British Jobs Bonus.

    £2.5bn of public money to crowd in and direct the tens of billions of private investment.

    To our industrial heartlands, to our coalfield communities, to our coastal communities, to our oil and gas communities.

    Not simply leaving it to the market but planning our clean energy future to tackle the inequalities that scar our country.

    That’s the new Britain that we can build together.

    As an MP for a coalfield community, I know we must have a managed, just and worker-led transition.

    And we will.

    Let me say to oil and gas workers: We will use existing oil and gas fields for decades to come and we will do whatever it takes so that you can be the people to build our clean energy future: in offshore wind, in hydrogen, in carbon capture.

    No community left behind or left out.

    No more shutting out of trade unions as we build this future.

    No more power in this country without jobs in this country.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    And under Labour, we will use our energy policy as a tool of economic justice.

    Why should only the wealthy have solar panels when they provide cheap, clean energy and cut bills?

    So GB Energy will invest £1 billion a year to develop local, renewable power owned by local people.

    Thousands of projects across Britain.

    Cutting bills, tackling fuel poverty and creating profits not for energy giants but for local communities.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    In the 20th century through North sea oil, Britain exported to the world.

    In the 21st century, with Labour, Britain will be an energy superpower once again, exporting clean power to the world and controlling our economic destiny.

    British families and businesses never again held to ransom by Putin.

    So the next Labour government will legislate for an Energy Independence Act for Britain.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    Now, fifteen years ago the Labour government passed the climate change act, a beacon to the world.

    So many people that I meet internationally say: we need Britain back leading again.

    Not a country missing in action on the most important issues our world faces.

    Under Labour, Britain will be leading again.

    Holding other countries to account with the power of our example.

    Tackling the cost-of-living crisis, building a new economy and showing leadership on the climate crisis.

    That’s the new Britain we can build together.

    There is so much to fight for in the months ahead.

    There is a mood for change in the air.

    But a mood is not enough to guarantee victory.

    As we saw last week, the Tories and their friends will fight dirty and desperate to hold onto power.

    Let us resolve here today.

    If these Tories want a fight about who can tackle the cost-of-living crisis, we say – bring it on.

    If these Tories want a fight about who can ensure energy independence for our country, we say – bring it on.

    If these Tories want a fight about who can stand up for working people, we say – bring it on.

    And if, after 13 years of failure and 5 Prime Ministers, these Tories dare to have a fight, about who can really change Britain, we say bring it on.

    We are ready to fight.

    We are ready to lead.

    We are ready to govern.

    We are ready to change Britain.

  • Claire Coutinho – 2023 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    Claire Coutinho – 2023 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

    The speech made by Claire Coutinho, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in Manchester on 2 October 2023.

    Thank you,

    Our nation – its people and its businesses – are going to succeed in the decades ahead if – and only if – we source enough energy.

    Energy that is home-grown, clean and cheap.

    If we get this right, the British people will enjoy greater prosperity in the decades ahead.

    If we don’t, we lose jobs and investment and our path to a greener future.

    I first want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Grant Shapps, who was relentless in making the case for energy security.

    He rightly said we cannot be at the mercy of tyrants like Vladmir Putin who seek to weaponise oil and gas against us.

    Our best defence is ensuring our own energy independence.

    And that energy independence is exactly what the Conservatives are delivering.

    We don’t just have the world’s largest off-shore wind farm,

    We have the second largest and the third.

    And, yes, we have the world’s fourth and imminently the fifth largest too.

    All built under our watch.

    We’re investing in solar, in fusion and in hydrogen.

    And rather than relying on imports, as Keir Starmer would have it, we’re backing our own North Sea.

    And we are delivering the first large-scale nuclear project since Margaret Thatcher’s government.

    In fact, each and every operational nuclear power plant in Britain began its life under a Conservative government.

    And we have done this all whilst meeting our climate change ambitions and growing the economy.

    Over the last 30 years, we’ve cut our emissions by half.

    We now get close to half of our power from renewables, up from just 7% when Labour left office.

    Let’s never forget – Ed Miliband described the idea of the UK getting to 40% renewables as ‘pie in the sky’.

    It is this Conservative Party, delivering for our people and our environment.

    Our leadership is also bringing wealth to our economy and to British workers.

    Since 2010 we have secured £200 billion in low carbon investments with up to £375 billion on the way.

    Carbon Capture will see 50,000 high-skilled British jobs in places like Teesside and the Humber.

    Our world-leading offshore wind farms will see 100,000 jobs by 2030, from Aberdeen to Cornwall.

    And our pioneering hydrogen industry is bringing jobs right here in the North West of England and over the border in North Wales.

    And Conference, we’re not just creating energy, we’re saving energy too.

    When Labour left power, less than 12% of homes were considered energy efficient.

    Now that figure is 50%.

    It is we Conservatives who are delivering the practical solutions to ensure we have secure, cheap energy – reducing bills and protecting the environment.

    Yet despite our success, we need to be honest about the challenges ahead.

    The transition to clean energy should be a cause of optimism for the country.

    It should mean jobs and opportunities and pride that we are playing our part in a global challenge.

    However, for too many people it had started to feel like an intolerable cost at a time when after the last few years, they felt they could least afford it.

    Across Europe, we are seeing the consequences when the public feel that they are being forced into the wrong decisions for their homes and their families.

    In Germany, the climate sceptic AfD is now polling in second position in Europe’s largest economy.

    In France, over a quarter of people think that climate change is a conspiracy.

    In the Netherlands, the rise of a new net zero sceptic party stormed their local elections.

    Meanwhile in the UK, only 7% of people think Net Zero is going to be good for them and their family in the near term.

    Uxbridge showed us what happens when you tax people for using their cars without thinking about how they would be able to get around otherwise.

    Conference, I have worked with families running on a tight budget. I know the difference £12.50 – Labour’s ULEZ tax – can make to people whose finances are stretched.

    If we are to succeed, Net Zero can’t be something that is done to people, by a privileged elite.

    We cannot force people to make the wrong decisions for their families.

    And it is immoral to put forward policies that will impoverish people here, when emissions are rising abroad.

    Conference, Labour are the party of tax and condemn.

    We Conservatives are the party of aspiration and the environment.

    And we should be clear: In the UK we account for 1% of global emissions.

    While we’ve reduced rapidly, other countries are polluting more. Their emissions are rising and rising fast.

    In China emissions are up over 300%.

    We will play our part and we will support other countries to do more, but we can’t do that off the backs off struggling households here at home.

    However, the likes of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, funded by the same people who fund Labour, do not get this.

    For them Net Zero has become a religion.

    For us it is a practical mission to be achieved.

    They want to force people to behave a certain way or face punitive taxes.

    And more than that, they show sheer condescension about people’s normal way of life.

    Do you eat meat? How dare you.

    You’re flying away for a week in the sun? How selfish.

    You’re driving to work to put food on the table for your family? Well, you should’ve chosen a different job.

    It is these zealots that would see the cause of climate change lost.

    More concerned with signalling their own purity then with energising the cause of climate change.

    They don’t seek to persuade, only to disrupt.

    They don’t want to engage, only to silence.

    Conference, that’s the Labour Party for you.

    And what do we see?

    It’s no wonder Labour seems so relaxed about taxing meat.

    Sir Keir Starmer doesn’t eat it,

    And Ed Miliband is clearly scarred by his encounter with a bacon sandwich.

    Conference, Keir Starmer’s only green credential is his recycling of Ed Miliband.

    A man already binned off once before by the great British public,

    A man who’s working in lockstep with Just Stop Oil,

    And a man who has clearly radicalised Keir Starmer.

    Labour’s hated ULEZ expansion,

    Their plans to borrow £28 billion a year which would drive up inflation,

    To take us much further and faster than any other country, no matter the cost on ordinary people.

    Their plans are toxic and would collapse popular support for net zero.

    Simply put, it is not the climate change deniers who threaten net zero – it is Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

    They choose ideology over reason at every turn.

    Alongside the SNP, the Labour Party opposed further development of the North Sea.

    A plan that would export 200,000 oil and gas jobs abroad.

    A plan that has been rightly condemned by the unions.

    Even our Climate Change watchdog says that when we reach Net Zero in 2050, we’ll still need oil and gas as part of our energy consumption.

    Yet Labour would shut down the North Sea.

    They would have us more dependent on foreign regimes for longer.

    Jobs lost, investment lost, and our national security jeopardised.

    Well, we Conservatives are going to do things differently.

    The UK can benefit – and is benefiting – from the jobs and investment that the energy transition brings.

    From climate finance to generating new technology, we have a leading role that will see us beat climate change.

    But conference, we will also ensure we take our own people with us.

    Indeed, that is the only way we can achieve this.

    That is why we have made sensible adjustments to take a new approach to climate policies.

    Of all the major economies, we have set the toughest targets – and we have exceeded all of them.

    We are raising our ambitions on clean energy and innovation.

    But we are making it financially easier for people to change their boilers, and – crucially – this will be by choice not coercion.

    Gone are bans for those in rural communities for whom there is no realistic alternative to their boiler.

    For those who can convert, we’re increasing the grant for cleaner heating to one of the most generous schemes in Europe.

    We are also moving to a phase out of petrol and diesel engines which is in line with France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada and California.

    Our carbon emissions will continue to fall, but people will be able to make the transition when the price is right for them.

    We’ve taken the bold decisions because they are the right ones for our people.

    We will be ambitious, but we can also be practical.

    And above all we must be compassionate.

    It is we Conservatives who will deliver both for our people today and for generations to come.

    This is a decades’ long endeavour, and we are in it for the long haul.

    As part of this long-term strategy.

    One that focuses on energy security, lower bills and decarbonisation.

    I am today announcing the next phase of our new, practical approach.

    Firstly, we are boosting our long-term resilience and will set out our nuclear road map this autumn.

    A crucial element of this will be how we deploy the exciting new technology of small modular nuclear reactors.

    I am therefore pleased to announce today the six companies we have shortlisted to build these reactors.

    Rolls Royce, an iconic British company,

    Who have been powering our nuclear submarines for 70 years.

    A company founded by the genius of our Union of nations,

    Formed by the Welshman Charles Rolls and the English apprentice Henry Royce.

    Who formed a partnership right here in the Midland Hotel in Manchester 120 years ago.

    They have been selected alongside 5 other world-leading companies, each with cutting edge technology, including GE-Hitachi, EDF, Holtec, Nuscale and Westinghouse, with the final decision to be taken early next year.

    Together with Hinkley, Sizewell and our commitment to accelerate other emerging technologies and bring them to market,

    It is we Conservatives who are acting now to secure our future.

    Now our quest to tackle climate change means taking people with us.

    We know that many are hesitant, for example, about solar farms covering our countryside.

    Conserving our green and pleasant land is a personal priority for me – from the Surrey Hills to the Derbyshire Dales.

    We are therefore working to reduce pressure on rural communities, by making it easier for solar panels to be installed on industrial rooftops, warehouses, car parks and factories.

    We’ll cut through the planning red tape that limits the amount of solar businesses can currently install.

    Protecting the countryside, boosting renewables and according to industry, saving businesses up to £3 billion pounds a year

    Finally, maintaining public support for net zero also means showing compassion.

    Rather than clobbering the public and forcing them to make the wrong choices for their families, this government is supporting people as we reduce emissions.

    That’s why my last announcement is targeted at those least able to make the transition.

    So today I can announce we’re allocating a further £80 million to insulate thousands of social homes, saving families on average £240 each year.

    Supporting the most vulnerable, reducing their bills, protecting our environment.

    Today’s announcements, taken together –

    New nuclear, sensible solar, insulation investment.

    It is the Conservatives with the practical, long-term solutions for our country.

    The contrast with Labour could not be starker.

    Their approach concerns me because it risks public support in the very endeavour they claim to champion.

    And it also imperils our mission as Conservatives.

    I am a Conservative because I believe that we are custodians of the things that we cherish.

    We must deliver abundant, cheap energy so that the next generation can benefit like we did.

    We must preserve and protect the environment for those yet to be born.

    Since Mrs Thatcher stood up at the United Nations in 1989, it has been this country that has reduced emissions faster than any of our competitors.

    I believe that if we place ourselves at the forefront of this latest energy revolution we will reap the rewards just as we did in the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago.

    We will be ambitious,

    We will be innovative,

    And we will be pragmatic.

    These are, after all, the attributes that the world associates with Britain.

    So let’s take the fight to short-term Starmer.

    Let’s not allow Labour to play politics with our energy security.

    For it’s only the Conservatives who can save our environment, grow our economy and secure our children’s future.

    Thank you.

  • Julie James – 2023 Statement on Renewable Energy Developer

    Julie James – 2023 Statement on Renewable Energy Developer

    The statement made by Julie James, the Welsh Minister for Climate Change, on 2 August 2023.

    When I announced that Welsh Government would establish a Welsh state developer to benefit Welsh citizens, I committed to updating the Siambr on progress. I am happy to say that we are making progress at pace towards our launch date of April 2024.

    One of the early questions is about how people see the company. The name is an important first step in making sure that it is an organisation people can recognise and understand the role it has in delivering for the people of Wales. Our new developer will be called Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, making it absolutely clear that its intent is to power Wales into a clean and more prosperous future.

    I am also very pleased that we have secured an excellent and highly skilled Chief Executive to lead the company, following an open and fair competition that attracted a strong and able field of candidates. We have appointed Richard Evans, who has both a strong professional background as a developer and has worked across the public sector helping us deliver our energy ambitions through the Welsh Government Energy Service. I look forward to working with Richard to deliver the ambitions I have for this company to make a real difference to our communities.

    Our recruitment campaign is continuing throughout this year, as we look to staff the company with people with experience in energy development who want be part of this new and exciting company. We will also be searching for a Chair for an independent Board, which will have the important role of steering the company as it establishes itself and its projects.

    A key focus of the company is supporting value creation for the people of Wales. Procurement is a hugely powerful tool in driving the changes we want to see. We have successfully contracted with some very skilled organisations to support the Trydan team in establishing well-designed renewable projects. We have focused on involving Welsh companies and delivering social value to Wales, and I look forward to reporting on how we realise these immediate benefits as the development process begins.

    Though this is just another step in a long-term process and there is still much to do, I hope you will welcome these milestones on the way to the birth of Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru.

    This statement is being issued during recess in order to keep members informed. Should members wish me to make a further statement or to answer questions on this when the Senedd returns I would be happy to do so.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Speech at the Spectator Energy Summit

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Speech at the Spectator Energy Summit

    The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in London on 26 April 2023.

    Introduction

    Good morning to everybody, and welcome to 1 Birdcage Walk, a building that was absolutely state of the art when it was first opened in 1899, as home for the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

    It featured such spectacular features, including passenger lifts and telephones, it was well ahead of its time. By 1940, the glamour slipped away. The entrance itself and roof were sandbagged. The windows were netted. And the basement was turned into an air raid shelter.

    After all, we are located just across the road from Churchill’s nerve centre, from where he directed the war effort.

    Indeed, 1 Birdcage Walk was later to play a profoundly important role in World War II, when it was used by senior army engineers to actually plan D-Day – working out how to launch and then sustain the greatest seaborne invasion ever staged, and certainly one of the greatest engineering triumphs in military history.

    At the end of the war, another great British engineer – Frank Whittle – he came here as well, to deliver the first public lecture about the jet engine.

    It was particularly thanks to his genius and perseverance that we led the world in the UK in the development of jet technology in the 1940s, and that the first commercial airliner to usher-in the jet age was the British deHavilland Comet, designed and built in my own Hatfield constituency I should say.

    UK energy leadership

    In those years, this building saw Britain at her very best.

    A generation that faced up to the most formidable challenges with guts and determination, but also a generation that capitalised on opportunities once the war was over.

    Whittle was just one of a long line of British engineering pioneers who had the confidence to take risks, to innovate and to lead.

    But it was a leadership that began almost 2 centuries before, when James Watt’s steam engine fired up the Industrial Revolution.

    And it was a leadership that continued into the 1950s, when Britain built the world’s first full-scale nuclear power station at Calder Hall, in Cumbria.

    Today we need to regain this leadership, as we embark on a new energy transition.

    Energy security

    Because there is a simple, single and very harsh fact… we have neglected energy security for far too long in this country.

    And if one event brought that realisation home, it was surely Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

    That single, brutal act highlighted our over-exposure to volatile international energy markets, after decades of dependence on often imported fossil fuels…. so it is hastening our energy transition not just here but throughout the world.

    So that no one should allow, particularly Vladimir Putin, to hold the British people to energy hostage ever again.

    And so this government has stepped in. This winter for example, we have been paying around half the typical household bill.

    But to deliver the kind of cheaper, clean energy that we want to see in Britain in future, we must now diversify, decarbonise, and domesticate energy productions, to take control of our energy security.

    That’s why in February this year, the Prime Minister created the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Two sides of the same coin.

    And it’s why we’ve wasted no time in publishing our Powering Up Britain strategy – in fact just 50 days after the department itself was created.

    This document explains how we’re going to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, how we’re going to replace them with home-grown renewables and nuclear, and how we’ll bring down energy bills – and keep them down – so that energy prices eventually become the cheapest in Europe by the date of 2035.

    And just as we did in the past, we will make the best use of British expertise and British assets, to propel that energy transition forward.

    Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS)

    We’re already making very good use of the Great British weather.

    In fact the UK is a global leader in offshore wind. I don’t think most Brits realise, but not only do we have the world’s largest offshore windfarm – but we have the second largest… and the third largest… and we’re just constructing the fourth largest at Dogger Bank II.

    But there’s another colossal opportunity waiting for us in the North Sea.

    And this time, it’s not based on extraction and it’s not based on the wind.

    It’ll be generated by filling the spaces partially left by oil and gas extraction, and it will be with the storage of CO2 – a process known as carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

    Very simply, it involves separating CO2 from industry and, instead of emitting it into the atmosphere, storing it permanently and safely under the seabed.

    Now I wage most people in this country have never heard of CCUS.

    But they will very soon – because Britain has one of the greatest storage potentials in the entire world.

    We have quite literally been blessed with a geological goldmine, waiting to be exploited.

    Deep below the North Sea floor, we have numerous and vast storage reservoirs.

    To give some idea about the potential, I can explain that the UK Continental Shelf could have enough capacity to store about 78 billion tonnes of carbon.

    Now if you’re like me, that doesn’t necessarily mean very much, so I challenged my officials to tell me what that will be in, sort of, real money.

    And my officials tell me that broadly, that’s the equivalent to the weight of about fifteen billion elephants.

    Or to put it another way, about 234 million Boeing 747s.

    By either measure – a jumbo amount of storage space.

    At atmospheric pressure, 1 tonne of CO2 has the same volume as about a hot air balloon, but actually when we store it will be under high pressure, to compress it, and use a lot less space.

    This could be absolutely huge for the UK, and even in the short term, we’ve got very high ambitions.

    By 2030, we want to remove the same amount of carbon dioxide from CCUS as produced by up to 6 million cars on the road – or in effect, taken off the road.

    And if we were able to fill the UK’s theoretical potential for CO2 storage, then we could avoid the cost of today’s emissions trading price, about £90 per tonne of carbon, which could in theory provide a sector in the region of £5 trillion.

    This means the UK has an opportunity to not only store our own CO2, but also get value from storing other countries’ CO2 as well.

    For instance, we could use our reserves, our capacity, to store 100 years of UK CO2 – and 100 years of Europe’s CO2 as well.

    Underlining the incredible national asset that carbon storage could become for the UK.

    And there’s another huge benefit as well.

    To meet our net zero targets, not only do we need to embrace clean energy, we also need to help heavy industry decarbonise.

    Industrial carbon capture and storage actually makes that possible.

    Indeed, it will be critical to the deep decarbonisation of industries like cement and chemicals, which really have no other way to ensure that they can go green.

    So we’re going to create a pathway for those industries so that businesses can carry on investing in Britain, confident that they can still achieve net zero targets.

    We can lead the world in safely capturing and storing this carbon dioxide, from industries that can’t decarbonise at the pace they require. And that, in turn, will help provide reliable electricity supplies, ensuring energy security, whilst removing carbon dioxide from our air – so we can even carbon negative.

    CCUS benefits

    And we’re ready to act right now, I should say we are one of probably only four or five countries in the world with either capacity, or indeed, according to global rankings, the readiness to get on with this job.

    To give industry a real springboard towards this CCUS future, I just announced an unprecedented £20 billion in the Powering Up Britain document last month to invest in CCUS.

    We’re going to establish two industrial clusters by the middle of this decade –  the HyNet and East Coast clusters in the North West, and North East of England – to form what we’re calling Track 1 of our plans.

    And we’ll expand the Track 1 clusters, to include the Humber later in the year, and we’re going to develop a further two clusters as part of Track 2, which we plan to have up and running by 2030.

    As a result, CCUS could support some 50,000 jobs by 2030 – particularly benefitting places like the North East, Humber, Scotland, and Wales.

    Challenges

    Of course, I should say that very considerable challenges remain, both on technical grounds and in terms of proving the technology, so we’re only at the start of the journey.

    We are working with our friends in Europe, to cut the costs of the technology, and remove regulatory barriers to moving CO2 across borders, because transporting it will be a core part of the story.

    The UK actually co-leads the CCUS work internationally within the Clean Energy Ministerial group of major countries, so we’re particularly well placed to remove the obstacles and make progress on this.

    Wider North Sea industry

    Carbon capture is just one of many industries around the North Sea, which caused the Economist to recently say that the North Sea is potentially “Europe’s New Powerhouse.”

    On Monday I was in Belgium at a leaders’ summit of nine North Sea nations to discuss co-operation and scaling up these types of technologies.

    The variability in wind in the North Sea, for example, can put pressure on different parts of our energy grid.

    One way to address that is with interconnectors between different nations, which can produce a balance in production and demand cycles.

    So I was pleased to announce on Monday the new “LionLink” interconnector with the Netherlands. It’s capable of producing about 2 gigawatts of electricity for both countries, powering around 2 million homes. When it’s built it will be the world’s largest interconnector of its type – and is able to power the equivalent of Greater Manchester and Birmingham combined.

    I also signed an agreement with Denmark to exploit low carbon opportunities, all part of a massive programme of government incentives and support to help Britain tap North Sea resources, at a scale unimaginable until very recently. For example, the new Dogger Bank windfarm will produce 3.6GW when it reaches full capacity in 2026.

    3.6GW is about the equivalent of the output of three and a half times the typical nuclear power plant, that gives you an indication of the size and scale of what’s going on in the North Sea. Some of the new wind farms to be built will have a scale that’s so large that a single turn of some of the turbines would cover seven football pitches joined together. The scale of this is perhaps something that the British people are so far unaware of.

    Oil and gas

    Whilst the energy industry is abuzz with all of this immense change, I just want to stress our support for Britain’s existing oil and gas industry.

    It has done an important job, through COVID, through Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

    And, in line with our net zero 2050 commitment, we will not shy away from awarding new licences where they are justified, and where they can benefit Britain. It is very important to understand that even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, recognises, we will still need some oil and gas, even in 2050, even when we’re net zero. So it simply makes no sense whatsoever to deny our own oil and gas, and instead import it – with twice the embedded carbon – from elsewhere in the world.

    So we remain absolutely dedicated to the North Sea Transition Deal – helping decarbonise the industry whilst protecting thousands of jobs.

    It will be worth remembering, when carbon capture and storage is thriving in years to come, that the space we’re exploiting by removing oil and gas is what is partially creating the space to be able to store the CO2 in the future.

    Conclusion

    So, as we navigate the path through the biggest energy transition since 1 Birdcage Walk was opened in 1899, we remember the innovators and visionaries who went before us, from Watt to Whittle – who saw a changing world and they grabbed the possibilities and the potential to adapt.

    We now have the potential to lead the world once again, not just harnessing the wind of the North Sea, but the spaces below the bed of the North Sea, to store extraordinary volumes of carbon dioxide in the very place where fossil fuels laid buried for millions of years.

    Now I can’t claim that any of this will rival the fame of D-Day or the glamour of the jet engine, but I’m sure that carbon capture will, in years to come, also earn its place in the history books – not only as one of the great engineering feats of our times, but also as one of the turning points in Britain’s transformation to a very prosperous, net zero nation.

    Thank you very much.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Comments on Energy Sources

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Comments on Energy Sources

    The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on 16 April 2023.

    The UK has been at the very heart of global efforts to support Ukraine, defeat Putin and ensure neither him nor anyone like him can ever think they can hold the world to ransom over their energy again.

    This is the next vital step, uniting with other countries to show Putin that Russia isn’t welcome anymore, and in shoring up our global energy security by using a reliable international supply of nuclear fuel from safe, secure sources.

    But this is one side of the equation – the other is the need to invest in clean, cheap and secure energy sources, and our Powering Up Britain plan will do just that.

    We must stop being reliant on expensive and imported fossil fuels and focus on smarter energy solutions. The UK is already a world-leader when it comes to renewables, a fact recognised by the investors I have met in the Republic of Korea and Japan this week.

    In flying the flag for UK PLC, I want to be crystal clear that the expertise we have from having the four biggest wind farms off our shores is available to support countries looking to invest in their supplies – something that will benefit them, create green jobs and opportunities at home and boost energy security around the world.

    And I want us to work ever-closer together with countries like Republic of Korea and Japan as we invest more in nuclear technologies like Sizewell and Small Modular Reactors, opening up opportunities to invest in the UK and with it, the job opportunities in our local communities.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Speech to the Offshore Wind Industry Seminar

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Speech to the Offshore Wind Industry Seminar

    The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, in South Korea on 10 April 2023.

    Hello.  Aha-nyong-ha-se-yo

    It is half a century since South Korea turned to the United Kingdom to help develop its first ever car.  That vehicle – the Hyundai Pony – was produced with the aid of a British chief executive, British parts, British engineers, and even British finance and of course, … Korean ingenuity and Korean hard work.

    But no-one involved with that fledgling project could have imagined what it might lead to.  Today, South Korea is the fifth largest automotive manufacturer in the world – and it all happened here.

    And Hyundai’s new, electric Ioniq 5 is the current holder of the prestigious World Car of the Year award.

    What an incredible catalyst that early collaboration between our two countries in the 1970s proved to be: the beginning of a success story that, 50 years later, goes from strength to strength.  And 140 years after Britain and Korea first established diplomatic relations, our two countries are closer today than they have ever been in the past.

    We have Korean students in our schools, Korean pop music in our charts – and, thanks to my teenage daughter, in my home – and Korean food shops on our high streets.  And the reason I am here today is because we have incredible opportunities to work even more closer together.

    On our energy transition, we can create the secure, clean and reliable power that both our economies need to grow.  Through the UK-Korea framework, signed last June, both governments reaffirmed commitments to tackling climate change, and co-operating together to enhance energy security, particularly on renewables.

    That’s why, as the new UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, I’m so excited to be in Korea this week, and why I’m delighted to be taking part in this fantastic seminar today.

    Thank you representative HAN for inviting me.

    Our two nations stand together as partners in the energy transition.  But we also stand together in condemning Putin’s abhorrent war on Ukraine. The measures we are taking to isolate Russia internationally, punishing it economically, and helping Ukraine defend its sovereign territory.

    But although Vladimir Putin’s weaponization of energy has had a huge impact on our markets over the past year, the truth is that Russia’s gas, just like the president himself, belongs firmly in the past.

    And our discussions here today is about seizing the future, not retreating backwards.  Our future in Britain will be built on renewables, nuclear power and greater energy efficiency, whilst ensuring that the gas used during the transition is from reliable sources – like our own North Sea.

    With both our countries recognise the need to speed up the global energy transition to keep 1.5C alive. The IPPC’s Synthesis Report has emphasised the dire consequences should we fail to act.

    So I would obviously urge South Korea to bring forward its coal phase-out from 2050, join the ‘Powering Past Coal Alliance’ and incorporate the COP26 ‘Global Coal to Clean Power’ statement into its energy planning.

    The UK’s own ‘coal-to-clean’ story has been powered by offshore wind and we are eager to share expertise in this field with you.  Electricity produced from coal in the UK has plummeted from 40% in 2012 to just 1.5% last year.

    As a result, we are generating record amounts of electricity by wind – over half our total electricity comes from wind power on a good day.

    The UK has established itself as a world leader in offshore wind.  Our offshore capacity of 13.8GW is the greatest in Europe, and only second to China globally.

    We have the three largest offshore farms in the world.  Soon, we will have the fourth too.  And we have globally-leading ambitions to deploy up to 50GW by 2030, which will include up to 5GW of floating wind platforms.

    So we’re scaling-up renewables, and the development of a competitive domestic supply chain, that will meet our decarbonisation objectives.  It will also make us more resilient to economic shocks and provide energy security for future generations.

    And then there’s the economic opportunities that the transition to clean energy will bring.  The tipping point, when holding on to coal and gas power will no longer make economic sense, never mind environmental sense is getting closer and closer.  So we are focused on leveraging private investment alongside the public investment needed to support our ambitions and deliver net zero.

    But just as crucial as these domestic priorities we need to collaborate with key international partners too – and that means places like the Republic of Korea.  We have so much to offer each other.  I would strongly encourage companies which have invested in the offshore wind sector to consider coming to the UK.

    In the UK, the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme has made funding available to boost investment in major port and manufacturing infrastructure.

    One fantastic example this scheme has supported is a £512 million investment by Korean company SeAH Wind, a subsidiary of SeAH Steel whose CEO I am meeting this week, in a brand-new factory manufacturing offshore wind turbine monopile foundations in Teesside, England: a brilliant example of our two countries working together.

    I hope this is just the first of many successful ventures between the UK and the Republic of Korea and I would encourage interested companies to contact the British Embassy here in Seoul to better understand how the UK Government can help further investments.

    But the scope for collaboration goes beyond investment in the UK.

    The UK is an ally in South Korea’s offshore wind development.  You have set an impressive target of 12 GW offshore wind by 2030, with over 25 projects already in development. This includes huge floating offshore wind potential, which is already attracting UK players to your emerging market. As that market grows, the UK can become an even more trusted partner.

    Our expertise covers every phase of policy and project development.  We have established experience in oil and gas, marine and subsea, and can offer a unique combination of assets and opportunities to build on current ties between our countries.

    The British Embassy in Seoul is already starting this engagement, organising webinars to promote our offshore wind journey – and further areas of partnership.  Indeed, UK companies represent 60% of Korean offshore wind engineering contracts.

    I have been briefed on Corio Generation’s plan to build a 2.6GW floating wind portfolio of five projects, including working with Shell, on 1.5GW and 1.4GW of floating offshore wind in Ulsan.

    BP Renewables and Deep Wind Offshore recently formed a joint venture to develop offshore wind in Korea, with four projects across the Korean peninsula with a potential generating capacity of up to 6 GW.

    These examples show the value that the UK can bring to Korea – and what can be accomplished when we work side by side.

    So, on this 140th anniversary of UK/Korea diplomatic relations and, as we approach the 50th anniversary of the iconic Hyundai Pony launch, let us look forward to future success.  A future of greater energy security.  A future where clean renewables and nuclear power rapidly make fossil fuels obsolete.  And a future of close, mutually-beneficial collaboration between Britain and Korea.

    Working together, to power our success.

    Thank you.

  • Andrew Bowie – 2023 Statement on Energy Efficiency of Buildings – Funding

    Andrew Bowie – 2023 Statement on Energy Efficiency of Buildings – Funding

    The statement made by Andrew Bowie, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in the House of Commons on 24 March 2023.

    My noble friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Callanan) made the following statement on 22 March:

    Today the Government are announcing £1.8 billion of funding to cut the emissions and boost the energy efficiency of homes and public buildings across England.

    The investment will further reduce energy bills for householders and businesses, as part of the Prime Minister’s pledge to halve inflation and ease the cost of living. Altogether, 115,000 homes will benefit from energy efficiency and low carbon heating upgrades, along with 144 public sector organisations responsible for hospitals, schools, leisure centres, museums, universities and other buildings.

    It is being delivered through the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG), Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).

    In 2019, the UK became the first major economy in the world to legally commit to end our contribution to global warming by 2050. This is a huge challenge. But it is also an unprecedented opportunity.

    The UK has already shown that environmental action can go hand-in-hand with economic success, having grown our economy by more than three-quarters while cutting emissions by over 40% since 1990.

    The effort will be shared across many sectors, and decarbonising the energy used in buildings, and increasing energy efficiency will be a vital component.

    The UK is home to around 30 million buildings which are responsible for 31% of UK emissions. We have some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, over 80% of buildings still rely on high carbon fossil fuels for heating and have low levels of thermal efficiency.

    To reach our net zero target by 2050 we need to decarbonise the way we heat and cool our homes and workplaces, and to ensure that in the near term we meet our fuel poverty targets and emissions reduction targets.

    This £1.8 billion investment will be critical in supporting our commitment made in 2022 to reduce the UK’s final energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030 against 2021 levels.

    The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant

    Through the SHDF Wave 2.1 and HUG 2 the Government are awarding a significant injection of funding worth £1.4 billion to local authorities and providers of social housing.

    An additional £1.1 billion in match funding for social housing is being provided by local authorities and providers of social housing, bringing the total investment to £2.5 billion to upgrade social and private homes in England.

    The grant funding will be invested from April 2023 to March 2025, although delivery on the SHDF can continue with the use of match funding until September 2025.

    The money will go towards improvements to social households and private, low income, off-gas grid households with an EPC rating of D or below and could save homes occupants between £220 and £400 a year on energy bills.

    Energy cutting and cost saving measures provided through the schemes include external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, new windows and doors and draft proofing measures, as well as heat pumps and solar panel installation.

    These schemes will also support around 20,000 jobs in the construction and home retrofit sectors, helping to deliver on our promise to grow the economy and create better paid jobs, whilst supporting families across the country.

    The funding awarded through these schemes continues the investment through “Help to Heat” Schemes which has already seen:

    Over £240 million already awarded to the SHDF Demonstrator and SHFD Wave 1 projects, indicating the Governments continued support to the £3.8 billion manifesto commitment between now and 2030 to deliver energy efficiency improvements in social housing.

    Over 37,000 households have seen energy efficiency upgrades as part of the first two phases of the local authority delivery scheme, with a further 20,000-28,000 homes expected as part of the sustainable warmth competition.

    In addition to the SHDF and HUG, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will also use EC04 and ECO+ to accelerate our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets and the Government have committed to a four-year, £4 billion extension and expansion of ECO with EC04. We have announced a further £1 billion extension of the scheme through ECO+ to start in Spring 2023.

    Public sector decarbonisation scheme

    Over £409 million of grant funding has also been awarded through the Government’s public sector decarbonisation scheme. This Phase 3b of the scheme will support 144 public sector organisations across 171 projects to undertake low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures across hundreds of buildings.

    These projects will not only help reduce the carbon emissions of these public buildings but save them money on their energy bills and ultimately, save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds in the long-term.

    Hospitals, schools, leisure centres, universities and other vital public service buildings across England are set to benefit from the scheme.

    £2 billion has now been awarded across over 900 projects to decarbonise the public sector across all phases of the scheme to date, and even more funding through Phase 3b is to come as applications are assessed and approved.

    Today’s £409 million is part of the wider £2.5 billion package that this Government have committed to spending on upgrading public sector buildings between 2020 and 2025, supporting this Government’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037.

    Funding through the schemes will be allocated across England based on the following allocations:

    Region PSDS HUG SHDF
    East Midlands £18,112,366 £3,291,300** £74,715,671
    East of England £14,677,719 £23,577,300 £83,628,477
    London £44,280,137 £12,006,000 £131,724,938
    North East £7,636,389 £28,576,000 £29,355,551
    North West £44,555,899 £83,885,000 £105,371,309
    South East £108,324,556 £161,237,898 £128,906,218
    South West £33,450,968 £77,514,032 £80,236,981
    West Midlands £88,371,731 £152,745,310 £93,593,216
    Yorkshire and the Humber £21,737,561 £41,144,920 £ 50,053,929
    Across regions £26,688,898 – –
    Scotland* £1,221,871 – –

    * The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme was open to applications from public sector bodies in England and areas of reserved public services across the UK.

    ** Further funding is available to the region via the Midlands Net Zero Hub which represents £138 million of grant funding across the Midlands

    The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also partnered with the energy systems catapult to launch a freely accessible suite of tools, templates, and guidance to support the public sector in further decarbonising their sites.

    This support will help public sector bodies through the entire decarbonisation lifecycle, from the first stages of developing a strategy, through funding, installation, and completion, to help make achieving net zero sites and energy savings simpler.

    Energy efficiency taskforce

    The Government have launched an energy efficiency taskforce to support a step change in the reduction of energy demand through accelerated delivery of energy efficiency across the economy. It will help to support the Government’s ambition to reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings and industrial processes.

    Future funding

    £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028, in addition to the £6.6 billion allocated in this Parliament. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring we can scale up our delivery over time.

  • Sarah Olney – 2023 Statement on the Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill

    Sarah Olney – 2023 Statement on the Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill

    The statement made by Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, in the House of Commons on 24 March 2023.

    I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

    The UK has the least energy-efficient buildings in western Europe. Millions of families are living in cold, damp homes, homes that are crying out for better insulation and for cheaper and cleaner ways of generating and retaining heat. The Government policy to upgrade our housing stock is failing badly. Homes across the UK account for 15% of greenhouse gas emissions, much of which is down to poor insulation standards and heat being paid for and then lost unnecessarily.

    The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero said last week that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy had established 22 separate schemes to improve energy efficiency by the time he came to office. The majority of them have fallen far short of what is needed, wasting not only money, but precious time in the race against climate change.

    While the Government have failed to improve our draughty houses, many have stepped up; I would like to pay brief tribute to the many non-governmental organisations tirelessly researching this area and lobbying the Government for change. I also thank Lord Foster of Bath and the right hon. Member for North Thanet (Sir Roger Gale) for tabling a prior version of this Bill in last year’s Session and Ron Bailey for his time and commitment to this cause. I thank Citizens Advice Richmond for inviting me into its office yesterday for a discussion about how this is one of the biggest issues facing tenants in my Richmond Park constituency.

    This Bill would set out a legislative roadmap to upgrade homes to energy performance certificate band C by 2033—the minimum standard of energy efficiency that the Government’s own heat and buildings strategy has said is required. Currently, less than half of the buildings in this country meet that standard. How much longer can we kick this can down the road?

    The last year has shown us all just how volatile global energy markets are. Soaring energy bills have left vulnerable households paying the price for the Government’s failure to invest in vital home improvements to reduce energy usage. A recent report by Citizens Advice found that the average tenant in a property rated D or below will pay around £350 more for their annual energy bill than someone in a better-insulated property rated C or above. For those in the least efficient homes, that increases to £950 each year.

    The economic benefit of higher ratings does not stop solely with households: it is estimated that an EPC C rating could drive £12 billion of investment and save £1.75 billion annually. Not only will householders feel the benefit of improved energy efficiency in their monthly bills, but improved energy efficiency will significantly reduce damp, mould and excessive cold, all of which are detrimental to people’s health and mental wellbeing.

    When I spoke to Citizens Advice Richmond yesterday I heard many examples of parents living in damp and mouldy houses and the impact that that is having on their children’s health. I heard of many cases where children are now in and out of hospital with respiratory diseases that can be directly related to the quality of the housing they are living in.

    Research shows that homes in EPC bands D to G are 73% more likely to be mouldy or excessively cold than those in bands C or above. Tragically, research also shows that thousands of excess deaths each winter are directly attributable to cold and damp conditions. We must remember that those on the lowest incomes suffer most from the dangerous combination of draughty housing and soaring energy prices. That is why the Bill would put the Government’s target to upgrade all fuel-poor households to EPC rating C by 2030 on a statutory footing, placing a legal obligation on the Government to ensure that action is targeted at those who need it most.

    One of the most ludicrous examples of policy failure on energy efficiency was the decision taken by the Government in 2016 to scrap the zero carbon standard for new dwellings. This means that new homes are now being built, eight years later, which will have to be upgraded again in just a few years’ time to meet EPC band C targets. A green home building programme would create thousands of new green jobs, enabling economic growth and adapting our economy to meet future challenges.

    The Bill is just one step in the right direction. It would tie the Government to legally binding targets to decarbonise homes and buildings across the country. I accept that there is lots of work to be done to make those targets realistic: on developing green finance solutions, on training for suppliers, on supporting local authorities and on increasing public awareness. However, within those challenges are huge opportunities for cleaner, healthier and cheaper homes fit for the future, homes that benefit both households and the planet. I urge the Government to support the Bill today and to finally take the action that is needed.

    Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)

    The hon. Lady is making a very important speech about an issue that is very, very close to my heart. It is an issue on which I have held Westminster Hall debates, written newspaper articles and engaged with my social housing sector. Does she welcome the Government’s announcement this week of additional funding for decarbonisation in social housing? And I have a specific question for her. Where does she expect the cost of decarbonisation in private-owned non-mortgaged properties to fall?

    Sarah Olney

    The hon. Member makes an excellent point. The division between social and private is in many ways an obstacle to achieving our goals on this issue. In social and regulated housing, where there are opportunities perhaps to achieve economies of scale, certainly in whole blocks or whole estates of housing, a lot can be done, but obviously those opportunities are more challenging where private property is concerned. What we need is a range of innovative solutions in the private sector.

    Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)

    This is a fascinating debate, which I have followed. It has been brought to my attention by land and property holders in my constituency who have a large portfolio of listed and conservation buildings. The Bill drives them into a difficult place. On the one hand, there is a drive to increase efficiency. On the other hand, they are confronted by planning rules which prevent easy modification and adaptation of the structure to, for example, accommodate solar panels. Is the hon. Lady arguing that we should move to an easing of planning regulation to allow efficiency improvements in listed and conservation building stock?

    Sarah Olney

    I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. It is a live issue in my own constituency, he will be pleased to hear. We have conservation areas where people are keen to put solar panels on their roofs and it is possible on one side of the street but not on the other because of the impact on the streetscape. I very much urge local authorities—or whatever the planning authority is; it will be different in different parts—to look at that particular issue. We need to explore and weigh up the gain both for society at large and for individual householders. It will be different in different places. In some cases, it is about how the street looks, what people want to preserve and whether adjustments can be made. In other examples, the fabric of the building itself will need to be preserved.

    Before I came into this place in 2019, I was the financial accountant for Historic Royal Palaces. My old office was right in the middle of Hampton Court Palace, so a lot of these issues around fabric of the building are very close to my heart. Interestingly, there is no better place to be on a very, very hot summer’s day than right in the middle of a Tudor palace, with six-foot thick stone walls. I can confirm that it is just about the best possible natural cooling one can have.

    Robin Millar

    The hon. Lady is being generous with her time. We have much in common in our interest in and passion for old buildings. In fact, I came across the statistic that some 95% of conservation and listed buildings are still expected to be in use in 100 years’ time. That creates incredible economic pressure on the market to ensure that efficiencies are delivered, at incredible cost. I ask again, where do we think that cost might be addressed? Is she arguing for an easing of those conservation rules to reduce the cost on that particular sector of conservation and listed buildings?

    Sarah Olney

    I was coming to the point about the cost, which was raised by the hon. Member for Darlington (Peter Gibson). We need to rebalance and grasp the importance of energy efficiency right now. It is not just about climate change or fuel bills; it is about health and wellbeing, often of the very poorest in our society—if the hon. Member for Aberconwy (Robin Millar) will forgive me, they are probably less concerned about historic buildings. I mentioned Citizens Advice Richmond; one of its observations is that it is frequently the buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s where they find the most problems with damp and mould.

    I fear that we are getting distracted by some of the more minor concerns, when the issue is about the bulk of our housing stock—particularly the housing stock that our most vulnerable and low-income citizens live in—and what we can do. I want to pick up the point about where the cost will come from. Where it is an individual household and it is their responsibility, I want the Government to produce some clearer strategies about how the problem will be tackled. The private sector will then have more incentive to offer competitive options on things such as heat pumps, roof insulation and cavity wall insulation. We need a bigger take-up of those things to create a competitive market, but some of that has to come from the Government taking a lead in the sorts of strategies and products that householders might be tempted to take up.

    Peter Gibson

    The hon. Lady has been gracious in giving way once again, given the shortage of time. This issue is serious one for property owners. Having had a solid-wall property dry lined and insulated against a solid wall, I have seen the costs myself. Does she agree that it is incumbent on mortgage companies to develop a range of products that would help new homebuyers buying second-hand, older properties, to build in some sort of loan facility to enable such works to be undertaken?

    Sarah Olney

    The hon. Member is right. The sort of innovative products we are looking for are not just construction products, but financial products. Again, it is about opening up a private sector, competitive and well-regulated market that will enable homeowners to make the kind of investments that they will need to make in their own homes. The hon. Member is absolutely right at this time of heightened property values—again, a live issue in my constituency. I saw a league table recently in which Richmond Park is No. 6 for average property prices out of all the constituencies in the country. It costs a great deal already to live in Richmond Park. He is absolutely right that if we want to put an onus on homeowners to upgrade the quality of the properties that they are living in or renting out to other people, we need to offer them options for how they might finance that.

    Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)

    As a fellow London MP, the hon. Lady will recognise the pressures that have been highlighted. But there are parts of the market that are doing that organically already and have not required state intervention. Where there is state intervention, whether national or local, does she agree that it is important that trust is ensured? She may be aware of cases in her constituency of major doubts about the effectiveness of the Mayor of London’s solar scheme. People have signed up for the rollout of solar panels and have paid thousands of pounds, and that has not been delivered.

    Sarah Olney

    I confess I have not had a huge amount of casework on the solar panel issue. One case was raised with me but specifically on my earlier point about the conservation area. The hon. Member raises a good point about solar panels. I do not know why—a lot of people are asking this—we have not had a more extensive rollout of solar panels already, regardless of whether they are funded by the Mayor of London or anyone else. It is of huge benefit to homeowners to be able to install solar panels and participate in generating their own power and electricity. We really need to look at which policies are stopping people investing in solar panels, and what financial obstacles we may be able to overcome. This is not just about energy efficiency in insulating our homes, but about what more can be done to help people with the cost of fuel bills and keeping their homes warm, and about the health and wellbeing of the nation as a whole.

    The Deputy Speaker interrupted the business (Standing Order No. 11(2)).

    Bill to be read a Second time on Friday 24 November.

  • Grant Shapps – 2023 Chatham House Speech on Greater Energy Independence

    Grant Shapps – 2023 Chatham House Speech on Greater Energy Independence

    The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, at Chatham House in London on 1 March 2023.

    Good afternoon everyone.

    It is great to be here at 10, St James’s Square. Famous not just as the Chatham House headquarters of course, but also the home of three ex-Prime Ministers.

    Including two eminent Victorians ones, the Earl of Derby, and William Gladstone, whose terms in office spanned a period of phenomenal economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.

    Of course, there were many different reasons for that growth, but the real powerhouse behind the Industrial Revolution was a single commodity – coal.

    For so long, cheap and abundant needed in such enormous volumes as industry expanded that by 1900, coal powered an incredible 95% of the British economy.

    Causing some to fear that supplies could run out. Bringing booming Britain to an abrupt halt. Economist Stanley Jevons wrote a book, predicting the likely exhaustion of our coal mines. The Times and the Economist published articles about it.

    And yet, in the race to industrialise, no-one addressed our complete reliance on just one source of domestic energy. Or what was assumed to be one of our greatest strengths, and how that could become one of our greatest vulnerabilities.

    Because energy security was simply not a priority.

    Today I want to explain why this backstory has parallels with modern Britain.

    And how we will learn from our past mistakes, to deliver my ambition as Energy Secretary for wholesale electricity prices to become amongst the cheapest in Europe.

    Russia-Ukraine

    Despite those dire warnings about coal’s longevity during the Gladstone era. We know that it became a far more enduring power source than anyone could possibly have imagined.

    Indeed, thanks to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine 12 months ago, it’s even experienced a brief revival.

    Although Britain has slashed her coal use from 40% a decade ago, to less than 2% today. Some countries are reopening mothballed coal plants to replace Russian gas.  We’ve kept two or three of ours on standby – but thankfully have not had to use it this winter.

    We hope, for the sake of our climate, that coal’s renaissance will be very brief.

    Just as we pray – for the sake of the brave Ukrainian people – that this appalling, pointless war is over before too long.

    Putin has achieved nothing from marching into a sovereign nation, beyond disrupting energy supplies and hitting families with higher bills, killing thousands and displacing millions

    In every way, his reckless gamble has fallen apart.

    His military catastrophe. His miscalculation of the West on whether we would be divided. His spectacular undermining of his own country’s interests.

    The past year has shown that Russian fossil fuels – like Putin himself – belong in the past.

    The fallout from this tragic conflict may have caused us some short-term challenges and we know that it has. But ultimately, Putin’s war will just hasten the energy transition we all want to see

    Indeed, actually I’d go further. I’d say it marks a crucial turning point for Britain’s energy resilience.

    Never again will we be held to hostage by a tyrant.

    Never again will we allow our energy security to be threatened.

    And never again will we let one man hit the pockets of every family and business in Britain causing the government to step in and pay half – half – of a typical household energy bill.

    Instead, by accelerating plans to diversify, decarbonise and domesticate our energy supplies, we will take back power.

    And reform our energy market. To secure cheap, clean energy that Britain needs to prosper.

    Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

    So, creating the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is a clear statement of intent from this Government.

    Nearly twice the size of the old Department of Energy and Climate Change.

    The new Department can now give energy and net zero the full and dedicated attention they palpably deserve.

    So, Chatham House, here are my main objectives as Secretary of State:

    1. To set Britain on a path to energy independence, in other words, delivering energy security.
    2. To bring bills down as soon as possible, and keep them down, so wholesale electricity prices are among the cheapest in Europe, delivering consumer security.
    3. To decarbonise energy as part of our commitment to net zero, delivering climate security.
    4. And to play our part in reducing inflation and boosting growth, delivering economic security.

    Distinct though these may be, each of these four objectives are closely entwined.

    Each one depends on the success of the other three.

    So a key mission for the new Department will be to work across different disciplines, and make best use of our expertise.

    But they also feed into the Prime Minister’s five priorities for Britain, in particular to halve inflation and get our economy growing, to build a strong, stable and prosperous future, thereby reducing debt in the medium term, for our country.

    The challenges

    I’m the first to admit the challenges we face are considerable. For decades, Britain has been increasingly reliant on polluting, imported fossil fuels. We’ve neglected investment in other forms of power, and in partiuclar in nuclear power.

    And that has left us more exposed to volatile international energy markets.

    The government has stepped in this winter, as I have explained, paying half of a typical household bill and a third of a typical business bill, even if many people perhaps don’t realise that’s what we’re doing in the face of rising prices

    I will continue to fight on behalf of the consumer – just as I’ve done recently with the pre-payment meters scam. But to address the main objectives I’ve set out.

    We must wean ourselves off fossil fuel imports. And remove the direct link between gas prices and renewables. And replace them with cheaper, cleaner, domestic sources of energy.

    Powering more of Britain from Britain.

    UK strengths

    Let’s not forget what we’ve achieved already.

    We were ranked top 3 in the world last year for clean energy investment – only the US and China, obviously much larger countries, were higher.

    We are a global leader in offshore wind power – with the world’s largest offshore wind farm.  And the world’s second largest.  And the third.  And fourth largest.

    And we’re pioneering many breakthrough energy technologies, through our open ecosystems. We have so much to promote here in Britain.

    The thriving tech sector. Our world class universities. and the North Sea, described recently by the Economist as “Europe’s new powerhouse”.

    Plus, our position outside of the EU gives us the freedom to regulate and deregulate, and build our business-friendly environment.

    So, we can and have increased energy security whilst decarbonising faster than any other industrialised nation. We expect growth in offshore wind to support 90,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030.

    And we’re developing the next frontier in this exciting industry. floating offshore windfarms – Currently the only operational ones in the world for example, is in the Celtic Sea around Cornwall and Wales.

    Proving that Britannia still rules the waves!

    We have incredible potential in areas like carbon capture and hydrogen. Carbon capture clusters, and exporting the technology, could support 50,000 UK jobs by 2030, with the backing of our £1 billion CCS Infrastructure Fund.

    Hydrogen hubs like places in Teesside, bringing back investment to areas that experienced significant decline during the 20th century

    And we promise sustained growth for the future.

    And we’re not just concerned with creating new jobs.

    Through our North Sea Transition Deal, we’re helping to decarbonise oil and gas and protecting thousands of existing jobs as well. So, bringing all this work together through the Energy Security Bill – the vehicle for delivering our strategy.

    It will modernise the way that we heat people’s homes.

    It will turbocharge British technology.

    And it will liberate private investment, scaling-up jobs and growth.

    Private investment

    But this is not just all about government, of course. My new department will be working flat out to fire up private investment in our energy transition.

    A couple of weeks ago I was meeting with Bill Gates to discuss how green energy opportunities can work here in Britain. He was hugely impressed by the drive and innovation, the political will which is not universal throughout the rest of the world, to transform energy security.

    His ‘Breakthrough Energy’ initiative was founded in 2016 to invest in fledgling green clean energy projects that have enormous potential. It’s just the kind of stimulation we need to scale-up green energy businesses in the UK.

    Nuclear

    But alongside all of those renewables, I am also firmly committed to nuclear within our future energy mix.

    We’re progressing with the construction of Hinkley Point C, and driving forward Sizewell C, a sister project that I funded at the end of last year, which could be powering the equivalent of six million homes and  supporting 10,000 jobs – it’s the first time in 40 years public money has been committed to nuclear in this country.

    And we’re setting up Great British Nuclear, to produce a resilient pipeline of projects, so it is not the last. I’ve appointed the country’s first ever nuclear minister in Andrew Bowie – already dubbed ‘Atomic Bowie’ within our department.

    All of this together will help us to meet those legally-binding target of net zero by 2050.

    Net zero and energy consumption

    As well as creating new green energy and jobs of tomorrow, we must make sure that we energy efficiently today. Our goal is to cut energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% in this decade.

    Backed by £6 billion funding between 2025 and 2028, on top of £6.6 billion provided in this Parliament. This winter I know has been incredibly difficult for households across the country.

    Thankfully, there are now signs of the wholesale gas price coming down. But if anything positive has come from the past few months, it’s built awareness of the need to increase efficiency of energy use. An awareness we must develop, even when energy prices return to normal.

    Because the “Net Zero” part of my Department’s title is really just the flip side of “Energy Security”.

    All too often I think in the green debate in this country, it has been framed by a tiny minority of people who glue themselves to motorways. But that’s not the future when it comes to tackling climate change.

    I see decarbonisation as a fundamental, and mainstream aspect of everything we do.

    Conclusion

    With hindsight, then, we can perhaps forgive Gladstone and Lord Derby for neglecting energy security. Coal supplies had long been considered inexhaustible.

    And there was little concern for or even recognition of environmental impact as Britain’s economy boomed at that time. Today, by contrast, we have many compelling reasons to think differently.

    Putin’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrated something that the UK already appreciated – fossil fuels are not the future. Instead, greater energy independence, by investing in renewables and nuclear, is the way to ensure aggressors can never again hit people’s energy bills.

    And this reason alone is justification to overhaul our energy strategy.

    But when it’s also critical to achieving net zero.

    And creating hundreds of thousands of green jobs to level-up Britain. Then we must address energy security with much greater urgency and resolve.

    Those Victorian Prime Ministers were lucky, fears over coal reserves were ultimately unfounded as we know.

    But we won’t take a chance on our energy security again.

    This time, we’ll choose the responsible path.

    Make the right decisions.

    For our environment.

    For our prosperity.

    And for our children’s future.

    Thank you.