New Clause 18 - Carbon dioxide emissions performance standards for electricity generation

Part of Energy Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:00 pm on 21 June 2011.

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Photo of Charles Hendry Charles Hendry The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change 5:00, 21 June 2011

I wish the hon. Gentleman success in selling that to the renewables industry—that he expects it to pay extra taxes at a time when it says it is not getting sufficient support from any of the technologies it wishes to see developed. We take a different view. We have set out a perspective on how to give certainty to investors over the longer term. That is going to be an important part of the process in future.

The issue we must deal with is the need for a significant amount of new investment in our electricity system. The words “barefaced cheek” came to mind when I listened to the Opposition spokesman, because we are trying to make up for an incredible lack of investment in our energy infrastructure over a long period. Over the course of this decade, we have to secure twice as much investment as we secured in the last decade—when the last Government were in power—every single year in order to give us energy security and keep the lights on.

This is an incredible challenge. Had we not been almost at the bottom of the European league table for renewables—above just Malta and Luxembourg—and if we had had more investment in renewables, that challenge would not have been so big. Had we not had the five-year moratorium on nuclear under the hon. Gentleman’s Government, we would have been five years further forward on new low-carbon nuclear technology. The investment that is necessary was knocked back because of decisions that were made, and that gives us a much greater mountain to climb now.