Graham Stuart: The Government has provided significant additional funding for renewable energy projects this autumn. Provisions include support via the next Contracts for Difference Allocation Round, funding for manufacturing for Windfarms and Networks and investment tax measures. Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private...
Graham Stuart: Phase 2 of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) supported projects to develop energy and resource efficiency technology in cement, worth a total of £720,000 in grant funding. Over £13 million in funding has been awarded from UKRI’s Innovate Transforming Foundation Industry Challenge for decarbonisation projects in the cement sector, including over £2.6m to Cemex to look at...
Graham Stuart: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State regularly discusses a range of issues with my Rt hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer. Carbon Capture Usage and Storage will be crucial for decarbonisation of industries, such as cement, which otherwise lack viable alternatives to achieve deep decarbonisation. CCUS and low carbon hydrogen are vital to transforming these sectors. In March, the...
Graham Stuart: Officials have regular discussions with the Green Construction Board and with other bodies on a range of issues relating to the decarbonisation of cement. The Government is committed to exploring opportunities to decarbonise this critical foundation material and regularly engages with the Mineral Products Association and the sector to discuss the challenges and opportunities involved in...
Graham Stuart: ECO4 does not award funding to households, it is an obligation set by Government on large energy suppliers to install energy efficiency measures. To the end of June 2023 (the latest available data by parliamentary constituency), ECO4 has supported 10 households in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency and 1,241 households in Bedfordshire (Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Local...
Graham Stuart: The UK is fully supportive of rapid national and global action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, as part of its commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The Government put methane towards the top of the agenda at COP26, where the Global Methane Pledge was launched and the UK was one of the first countries to sign up. The Government welcomes the focus of...
Graham Stuart: The Department typically uses the terms “clean”, which is based on analysis of resource and environmental sustainability, on an individual project or technology basis, and “low carbon”, which is about carbon emissions relative to traditional alternatives. In the 2023 Green Finance Strategy, Government recommitted to consult on and implement a usable and useful UK Green Taxonomy –...
Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes full details, including the capacity, location, and development status of Offshore Wind projects, in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). Updated following the end of each quarter, an extract from the October 2023 version can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-...
Graham Stuart: The Government is working with the Community Energy Contact Group on the content of the annual report and consultation. Whilst it hopes to publish these products as soon as possible, until these discussions have concluded the Government is unable to outline a definitive timeline.
Graham Stuart: The Department does not hold information on the percentage of solar panels installed in the UK that were imported from China in 2022.
Graham Stuart: The Government has not made any such assessment as it does not plan or develop energy infrastructure but sets the regulatory framework for the independent energy industry. The development of energy islands is subject to consent through the planning system and consistency with environmental protections and value for money requirements set by the regulator Ofgem. The Holistic Network Design and...
Graham Stuart: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State discusses a range of issues with my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, including offshore wind where relevant. The Offshore Wind Industry Council estimate that the total UK offshore wind workforce at the end of 2022 was 32,257, representing an increase of four per cent from the previous year.[1] [1] Offshore Wind Skills...
Graham Stuart: The existing Ecodesign regulations which set the minimum energy performance standards for lighting products already contain an exemption which allows light-sensitive people access to non-LEDs via a medical prescription. As part of our proposals to update the minimum energy performance standards for lighting products, the Government consulted on an amendment to the exemption which would enable...
Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is monitoring the published literature into the risk of increased energy consumption from AI-powered services. Despite its energy usage, AI can be used to enhance efficiency and reduce overall carbon emissions.
Graham Stuart: The Government is working with the Community Energy Contact Group on the content of the annual report and consultation. Until these discussions have concluded, the Government is unable to outline a definitive timeline.
Graham Stuart: The Government is working with the Community Energy Contact Group on the content of the annual report and consultation. Until these discussions have concluded, the Government is unable to outline a definitive timeline.
Graham Stuart: Since 2014, the Contracts for Difference scheme has proven itself highly effective at driving deployment of large-scale renewables while rapidly reducing costs. The scheme has now contracted over 30GW of new low-carbon capacity, including 20GW of offshore wind. The Government continuously reviews the scheme to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose as our electricity system evolves and we work...
Graham Stuart: The new UK-Germany energy and climate partnership text was published on GOV.UK on Friday 3 November 2023. It is easily accessible through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero home page on GOV.UK.
Graham Stuart: The Department engages with developers on potential interconnection projects. Officials are aware of two further potential interconnection projects that are seeking to connect into Scotland, these are NorthConnect and LirIC.
Graham Stuart: Information on the number of homes that have received measures through the Energy Company Obligation in the last 12 months can be found in Table 1.2 of the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release.
