Amanda Solloway: This Statement concerns an application for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by North Lincolnshire Green Energy Park Limited for development consent for the construction and operation of a combined heat and power (CHP) enabled energy generating development, with an electrical output of up to 95 megawatts (MWe), incorporating carbon capture, associated district heat and...
Amanda Solloway: The numbers of complainants who have been waiting for one year, two years, three years, four years, five years and six years or more, by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, are as follows: Years Parliamentary constituency 1 2 3 4 5 6 Airdrie and Shotts 2 1 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock 1 2 1 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk 1 1 Central Ayrshire 1 3 2...
Amanda Solloway: The UK ETS Authority is committed to protect our industry, including those in Wales, from carbon leakage as our economy decarbonises which is why we give free allocations to businesses at risk of carbon leakage under the UK ETS. We have guaranteed free allocations at current levels until 2026 and are now consulting on changes to better target free allocations at sectors most at risk of...
Amanda Solloway: The Department announced £12 million funding awarded through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). The IETF provides grant funding to existing industrial sites, helping industry to invest in more efficient technologies and reduce emissions by bringing down the costs and risks associated with investing in decarbonisation technologies. Of the £12 million announced in the press...
Amanda Solloway: The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in parliamentary constituencies in England, can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty Official Statistics, in Table 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-stati stics. Sub-regional estimates for 2022 will be published on 25th April.
Amanda Solloway: Fuel Poverty is a devolved matter and the Department has responsibility for England. The share of households in fuel poverty in England has reduced from 22% in 2010 to 13% in 2023, with energy efficiency being the key driver. Other support includes the Warm Home Discount scheme which provides low-income and vulnerable households with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill, which it...
Amanda Solloway: The Government will confirm plans with respect to the Clean Heat Market Mechanism in due course and will bring forward legislation as appropriate and when Parliamentary time allows.
Amanda Solloway: It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley. I thank the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry) for securing this incredibly important debate, and I thank other hon. Members for attending. Although we are a small group, they have made their cases very powerfully. I will go through the main issues one by one. Standing charges have been...
Amanda Solloway: The point I am making is that we are looking at the standing charges, which are the one thread that has run through everybody’s speeches and comments today. We need to ensure that the standing charges are fair. We do not know what the findings will be, but I suspect that among the 40,000 responses— I think it is probably nearer to 44,000—there will be a lot to take into account,...
Amanda Solloway: To give assurance again, that is exactly what I am saying: I have been tasking Ofgem with looking at the issue. We are waiting for the consultation results to come through.
Amanda Solloway: Once we have all the responses and have looked at them, I will be very happy to welcome views on the findings. I turn to transmission and distribution charges. Electricity network charges are the costs that users pay to connect to and use the electricity network. These are charged to suppliers and generators, so eventually the costs are passed on to consumers in their energy bills, some of...
Amanda Solloway: I thank the right hon. Member for his intervention. These are the kinds of things that we are working through as we respond to the net zero challenge. Hon. Members have quite rightly talked about the geographical challenges of electricity supply in northern Scotland, such as the area’s size, poor weather conditions, sparse population, mountainous terrain and the need to supply multiple...
Amanda Solloway: The hon. Gentleman is right. He has made that point clearly on several occasions, and I am prepared to discuss more fully the highland energy rebate paper that I have been sent. I turn to energy prices and support. Despite the rise in standing charges, energy prices have fallen significantly since the winter of 2022-23. The 2024 quarter 2 price cap of £1,690 is 60% lower than the 2023...
Amanda Solloway: It is important that we consider the different levels of debt. It is quite complicated to get those figures because the suppliers have them, but I have pushed to see whether we can get a flavour of them. One of the things that I would advise households struggling with their bills to do is to speak to their supplier before going into debt, to receive help and support as soon as possible. We...
Amanda Solloway: Insulation is the most common and cost-effective means of improving energy efficiency in people’s homes. Installers under current government schemes must be registered with TrustMark and comply with Publicly Available Specification 2035, which adopts a whole house approach to ensure appropriate ventilation when retrofit work is being carried out. This minimises the risks of unintended...
Amanda Solloway: The Government recognises the challenges posed by cost-of-living pressures, including the impact of energy bills, and is already providing extensive financial support to households. This includes a package of support to assist households and individuals with rising costs of living that will total over £104 billion, or £3,700 per household on average, over 2022-2025. We support those most...
Amanda Solloway: The Government consulted on the role of hybrid heat pumps through the consultation on ‘Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency’ and will set out our response in due course. Meanwhile, the Government is supporting targeted deployment of hybrid heating systems in defined circumstances in England through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Sustainable Warmth competition.
Amanda Solloway: The Government consulted on the role of hybrid heat pumps through the consultation on ‘Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency’ and will set out our response in due course. Meanwhile, the Government is supporting targeted deployment of hybrid heating systems in defined circumstances in England through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Sustainable Warmth competition.
Amanda Solloway: The Government remains fully committed to supporting the transition to low-carbon heating. This includes the aim to grow the market to 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. A range of measures are supporting this, including schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Energy Company Obligation and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. From 2025, we expect heat pumps will...
Amanda Solloway: The Boiler Upgrade Scheme supports the transition away from fossil fuel heating to a low carbon alternative. Hybrid heat pumps are not currently eligible as the Government want to direct funding available to technologies that offer the greatest carbon savings, rather than those which would continue to involve the burning of fossil fuels for heating. Heat pumps are suitable for the majority...