Elaine Thomson: ...Aberdeen last week. It is the second-biggest oil and gas show in the world and attracted 25,000 visitors from 78 countries. However, a major concern was raised about the impact of skills shortages onshore and offshore. If not addressed, they may impact on future investment decisions in the UK sector over the coming 30 years, when another generation of young Scots could be finding...
Glyn Davies: ...drilling there. We can allow it only where the potential for bringing down energy prices is such that we have to go forward with testing and seeing what the potential is. Most of my objection to onshore wind is due to the impact on not only my constituency but the whole of mid-Wales and, indeed, much of rural Britain—much of the wild land of Britain. There is no doubt at all that the...
Trudy Harrison: ...England Published. This defined the range of environmental risks and the current regulatory controls and was the starting point for development of sector specific guidance. The current version of Onshore Oil and Gas Sector Guidance was published in 2019. It sets out what activities require environmental permits and how an applicant is required to demonstrate that the impact on the...
Albert Owen: I take that point, and the Secretary of State may now find that an attractive view from his window, but at one time he did not want it to go ahead. He would not have been able to see it from his window, nor would he have been able to meet many of the targets that we are making progress towards in a low-carbon economy. I have always thought that offshore wind has a great future, although I am...
Mr Mark Ruskell: ...1km of the proposed Beauly to Denny power line upgrade. That said, I am not opposed to the upgrade. All of us recognise that climate change is the number 1 threat that we will face in this century. Onshore wind farms, small-scale renewables, energy efficiency and offshore renewables all have parts to play in tackling climate change. Onshore renewable energy sources require onshore grid...
Claire Perry: ...hearing another perspective from the hon. Lady’s fine city. Could I put on record that I am a little mystified about the Scottish Government’s decision to refuse to allow exploration for gas onshore when we know it is there because it is a geologically identical strata? Ultimately, the same operators would be looking to extract it. We can do it safely and in an environmentally secure...
Baroness Hayman: My Lords, I am grateful; I shall read the Minister’s comments very carefully. I think he said the Government were not convinced that this was the right way to bring forward more onshore wind. Of course, the moratorium was effectively imposed by a ministerial Statement. If the Government can find other ways, I will gladly cede my Bill in the cause. Beyond that, I was delighted to have a...
Richard Caborn: Obviously, she did so, but that is why we put the Act on the statute book and why we will intervene through the Gambling Commission. Yes, we want companies to come back onshore: we have the best regulatory authority in the world, so we can protect both the vulnerable and the punter. We can keep crime out of gambling—that is what the Act is about, and it provides Government with the ability...
Shiona Baird: Phil Gallie is missing all the points that I will now raise. Our opposition to nuclear energy is based on science and economics. An open mind would find out that no one has yet worked out what to do with nuclear waste—managing it over the next 40 years will set the taxpayer back some £83 billion. An open mind would see the problems of nuclear proliferation, the terrorist threat and the...
Mr Mark Ruskell: I join members in thanking Richard Lochhead for securing this debate on onshore wind. We have seen significant growth in onshore wind over the past 15 years, and we have probably seen some missed opportunities, too. Some credit is due to the Scottish Government, particularly as it was elected in 2007 on a manifesto that promised a moratorium on onshore wind. Despite that, we have seen some...
Matthew Hancock: ...in technology that mean we can bet more online and over the phone. However, we must recognise the change and deal with it, if we are to put matters right. The fact that bet365 and Coral are still onshore is great news, but we should not be in a position where we have to be grateful to bookies for staying onshore. The idea that we should thank people for paying the tax that they are due to...
Derek Twigg: Between 1 January and 30 June 2008 the Department objected to only 18 planning applications for onshore wind turbines (see following table). These represented 18 per cent. of the total number of onshore wind turbine applications about which we were consulted during that time. Site name Consenting authority Reason for MOD objection South Denes Great Yarmouth Borough Council...
Malcolm Wicks: Yes, and work is under way on that. Geothermal energy is an important technology. It is one of an array of renewable technologies that we need to consider. We need to find ways of incentivising some of the newer technologies more than, say, onshore wind farms, and we are looking closely at how that can be done. It is important that those involved with zero-carbon housing and other buildings...
Alex Salmond: ...Government’s consultation on exactly how community benefits can be further enhanced, because that is certainly the way forward. If she argues that there should be a more defined community benefit onshore and is prepared to join us in arguing for the Crown Estate to be brought under Scottish Parliament control, she will find a willing ear from this First Minister. That would seem to me to...
Graham Evans: ...on the issue and deserves considerable credit for her efforts. I confess that I am an enthusiastic fan of renewable energy, for many reasons. It is vital that we diversify our energy sources and find cheaper, cleaner, greener ways of powering our economy. The last Labour Government left us in a real mess over energy policy. It is no secret that our ageing nuclear power stations will have...
Liam McArthur: ...renewables energy industry; understands that the report demonstrates that Scotland’s renewable energy industry and its supply chain supported more than 27,000 full time equivalent jobs, and that onshore wind supported the most employment across Scotland’s economy from the renewable energy sector, with 10,120 full time equivalent roles, followed by offshore wind with 6,735 full-time...
Alan Brown: ...completed by 2024. When will we know how much money is going to be thrown at Rolls Royce for the small modular reactors that the Secretary of State mentioned? Why are the Government still blocking onshore wind in Scotland when it is clearly the cheapest mode of generation? When is the cut-off date for the ongoing discussions with Hitachi? When will the plug finally be pulled? When did the...
Kezia Dugdale: ...with her calls, but she must be reminded that she has at least six responsibilities to the oil and gas industry in Scotland. She mentioned skills and innovation, but she also has responsibility for onshore business taxes, support in finding new markets, supporting infrastructure and diversifying the industry. Therefore, the same old answers about looking to Westminster for solutions just...
Lord Oxburgh: ...to the closure of the ROC scheme one year earlier than originally advertised and the other relating to planning consents for wind farms, will together be seen as a government cold shoulder for onshore wind. It is hard to see how this is consistent with the declared intention of decarbonising our economy in the least expensive way. I do not know whether the Minister is familiar with the...
Baroness Worthington: My Lords, I awoke this morning to find out from Twitter that the Secretary of State, Ed Davey, has just made another one of his grand bargains, this time with DCLG on onshore wind. I have to say that my heart sank. Yet again, it is a terrible bargain. In return for changes to planning laws that will undoubtedly make it more difficult to build wind farms, he has won an increase in the amount...
