National Policy Statements

Part of Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 (Amendment) – in the House of Commons at 4:35 pm on 1 December 2010.

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Photo of Charles Hendry Charles Hendry The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change 4:35, 1 December 2010

The Government are committed to taking us forward, and I welcome my hon. Friend's support in that respect. Hydro has an important contribution to make. The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend Gregory Barker, who has responsibility for climate change, set out how we can hope to achieve that ambition in his recent speech on the subject. Most issues that we are discussing today relate to major applications of more than 50 MW. Most hydro schemes will fall below that threshold and will therefore be subject to local planning decisions.

The section of the energy policy statement that deals with renewable energy does not cover major hydro schemes, such as major schemes involving tidal flow, because at this stage there is no evidence of a serious application for such a scheme of more than 50 MW. If that happens, we will need either to review the national policy statement or to introduce one specifically for marine technologies. In this country, we have a network of rivers, which are a potential source for electricity generation that we are keen to see harnessed.