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Energy White Paper
14 December 2020
Lead MP
Alok Sharma
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
ClimateEnergyParliamentary Procedure
Other Contributors: 40
At a Glance
Alok Sharma raised concerns about energy white paper in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, today we have published a White Paper on energy that outlines immediate steps to achieve climate ambitions and deliver the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan. The document aims to create jobs, protect vulnerable households from increased bills during the transition to net zero emissions by providing £6.7 billion of support over six years for low-income families, including extending the warm home discount scheme to cover an additional 750,000 households and implementing a green homes grant scheme that could save lower-income households up to £600 annually on their energy bills. The White Paper also introduces measures like automatic switching options and competition in building and operating onshore networks to drive down costs for consumers. It sets out commitments for 40 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, aiming to support around 60,000 jobs; a target for 5 GW of hydrogen production by 2030, which could unlock £4 billion in investment and create up to 8,000 jobs; and supporting the deployment of carbon capture, usage, and storage technology. Additionally, it reaffirms plans for new nuclear capacity and explores options like regulated asset base funding models and a UK emissions trading scheme.
John Howell
Con
Henley
Question
The hon. Gentleman is a strong advocate of nuclear power. However, in response to the shadow Secretary of State’s comments about nuclear financing, does he accept that it is very important for any new projects to be financed on commercial terms and not with large subsidies from taxpayers?
Minister reply
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. It is absolutely essential that we ensure value for money when negotiating deals such as the one for Sizewell C, and this must always be done in the best interests of British people. We have to ensure that any new nuclear project is commercially viable without excessive taxpayer support.
Jonathan Gullis
Con
Basildon and Billericay
Question
In his statement, my hon. Friend made reference to the impact of net zero on bills for vulnerable households. I am sure that we all wish to protect those who are struggling financially, but will he please explain how this plan would ensure energy is affordable not only now, but also in 2030 and beyond?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend raises an important point. The White Paper includes measures such as extending the warm home discount scheme until at least 2026 to assist fuel-poor households. Additionally, it proposes initiatives like automatic switching of tariffs to cheaper options which will help keep energy costs down for consumers in the long term.
Ed Miliband
Lab
Doncaster North
Question
Thanking the Secretary of State for his statement, Ed Miliband raised concerns about the lack of ambition in the White Paper regarding targets and implementation timelines. He questioned why the government's ambition was lower than the CCC recommendation for zero-emissions electricity by 2035 instead of 2050. He also criticised the absence of concrete plans for tidal energy projects, onshore wind, solar power, and nuclear financing.
Minister reply
The Secretary of State thanked Miliband but defended the White Paper's approach, highlighting support from industry leaders who welcomed its clarity and ambition. He mentioned that the government had adopted the CCC recommendation for a 68% reduction target and explained plans to introduce new processes for financing tidal projects through contracts for difference auctions next year.
Greg Clark
Con
Islington North
Question
Welcoming the White Paper, Greg Clark emphasised the potential of clean, cheap, and abundant energy as a result of technological advancements. He urged the Secretary of State to invest in research and technology and change regulations to facilitate the rollout of new technologies.
Minister reply
The Secretary of State thanked Clark for his support and highlighted that the White Paper builds upon reforms implemented under his leadership when he was Secretary of State, including the energy price cap. He agreed with Clark's emphasis on investing in research and development (R&D) and noted recent progress made at the spending review.
Alan Brown
SNP
Clydebank and Bearsden
Question
The White Paper is a year and a half late and includes outdated nuclear power proposals. With existing nuclear waste costs amounting to £132 billion, Hinkley Point at £20 billion, Sizewell C adding another £20 billion and potential further investments of up to £50 billion in other projects, the total could reach £150 billion. In comparison, only £50 million is allocated for property upgrades to EPC band C. What cost-benefit analysis has been done on nuclear jobs versus renewables? Can he confirm the route to market for pumped hydro, tidal and wave energies, and a contract for difference for hydrogen production? How will transparency be ensured in CCS site selections?
Minister reply
Nuclear power is reliable, safe and not intermittent; thus it needs to be part of the energy mix. We are proceeding with discussions on Sizewell C and tidal projects through the CFD 4 process. CCUS plant sites have yet to be decided but more details will be provided in early 2021.
Bill Cash
Con
Stone
Question
Will nothing in any treaty text or Act of Parliament prevent the UK from having its own sovereign state aid rules, including on energy, post-Brexit?
Minister reply
From 1 January 2021, we will follow WTO rules for subsidy control and consult on going further than our international commitments.
Darren Jones
Lab
Bristol North West
Question
The sixth carbon budget requested that all new boilers should be hydrogen-ready by 2025, generating 90 TWh of power by 2035. However, the White Paper commits to boilers being ready in the mid-2030s and only generates 42 TWh of power by 2030, a gap of some 48 TWh. Will he acknowledge this gap?
Minister reply
We will respond on CB6 next year and set out more details between now and COP26.
Bim Afolami
Con
Welwyn Hatfield
Question
Is the financing model for Sizewell C contingent upon a 30% reduction in build cost? Will Government investment be a first or last resort?
Minister reply
We will explore financing options including the regulated asset base model, ensuring value for money for taxpayers and consumers.
Chris Matheson
Lab
Wrexham
Question
The Secretary of State should resist putting all his eggs in one basket regarding hydrogen investment. What is your view on this?
Minister reply
We are committed to levelling up across the country and will be happy to have further discussions with him.
Salford
Question
The UK saw only £12 billion for its green industrial revolution, which is inadequate. What is he going to do to close the gap of 101 million tonnes between meeting our 2032 carbon target?
Minister reply
We need public and private sector collaboration, similar to how we developed the offshore wind sector.
Edward Leigh
Con
Gainsborough
Question
Will my right hon Friend spare a thought for rural Britain where EV charging points are rare?
Minister reply
We have introduced £1.3 billion for charging points across the country and will continue to work on ensuring we have EV manufacturing in the UK.
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Question
Why is similar direct public funding not being made available to other energy technologies, such as the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, instead of the very costly contracts for difference model?
Minister reply
The Government have started a discussion with the developer, EDF, regarding nuclear financing but no final model has been set out. The decision on whether to proceed will be based on value for money.
Stephen Crabb
Con
Beaconsfield
Question
How can Government support ensure that constituencies reliant on oil and gas industries are not left behind during the transition to renewables?
Minister reply
The Government will provide support for offshore wind and marine renewables through CFD auctions. The Minister encourages pointing viable projects in his constituency towards these processes.
Richard Thomson
SNP
Kilmarnock and Loudoun
Question
When can we expect the successful conclusion of sector deal negotiations with the North Sea oil and gas industry?
Minister reply
The Government received a formal proposal from industry in November. Negotiations will be completed and published by Q1 next year.
Alun Cairns
Con
Vale of Glamorgan
Question
Does the Secretary recognise challenges posed by the regulated asset base for nuclear power stations? Will he show enthusiasm towards small modular reactors?
Minister reply
The Government support SMRs and AMRs through a £385 million advanced nuclear fund. The Minister is fully aware of their potential to create jobs and export opportunities.
Wendy Chamberlain
Lib Dem
North East Fife
Question
What steps are being taken to ensure enough qualified personnel for heat pump installation following the green homes grant extension?
Minister reply
The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth leads a green jobs taskforce. The Department is working to issue vouchers and increase installer numbers.
David Jones
Con
Clwyd West
Question
Will the Secretary meet to discuss proposals for a tidal lagoon off the north Wales coast with potential capacity of 2.5 GW?
Minister reply
The Minister is willing to meet with my right hon. Friend and his colleagues to consider interesting projects.
Caroline Lucas
Green
Brighton, Pavilion
Question
Will the Secretary confirm that the regulated asset base funding model means consumers will pay twice?
Minister reply
The RAB model is intended to result in cheaper prices for consumers. Nuclear energy is important as a non-intermittent supply.
Damian Hinds
Con
East Hampshire
Question
What are the Government doing to support research and development on batteries?
Minister reply
The Government are investing in gigafactories for electric vehicles and will look into energy storage technology, such as hydrogen batteries.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Question
When will the Secretary be in a position to update on the process for locating SMRs, given Welsh Government's plans at Trawsfynydd?
Minister reply
SMR technology is currently at the design phase. The consortium led by Rolls-Royce is making progress and we aim for operational capabilities by early 2030s.
Mike Wood
Con
Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Question
Will my right hon. Friend work with the Transport Secretary to ensure infrastructure and type approvals are available for clean electric passenger pods?
Minister reply
The Government will continue supporting the roll-out of charge points at UK homes, businesses, and on streets over the next few years.
Emma Hardy
Lab
Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice
Question
When making decisions about successful projects for the Department's industrial strategy challenge fund, will he take into account local economy impacts?
Minister reply
The Secretary of State is willing to have further discussions on CCUS projects in early 2021.
Question
I congratulate the Secretary of State on the publication of an excellent energy White Paper, in which the word “nuclear” is mentioned about 80 times, and the stated ambition to make a financial investment decision on at least one large-scale nuclear project by the end of this Parliament. Apart from writing to Santa, what more does he suggest I do to ensure that my constituents on Ynys Môn have some good news regarding Wylfa Newydd this Christmas?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is a great champion of Ynys Môn, and I know she is doing her bit to speak up on behalf of her constituents. We will of course consider any new projects that come forward with any viable companies and investors that wish to develop sites in Wales or elsewhere.
Matt Western
Lab
Warwick and Leamington
Question
The Secretary of State will be well aware that a shockingly high proportion of households are living in energy poverty across the UK. In my constituency of Warwick and Leamington, 8.9% of households are in energy poverty. I have heard about the green homes grant and how it has not really succeeded since it was introduced. What are the Secretary of State’s plans to ensure that those living in social rented properties will be able to have that addressed, and that local authorities and housing associations get the funding they need to implement that?
Minister reply
As the hon. Gentleman knows, the £3 billion funding that the Chancellor announced some months ago includes funding for social housing. We are making progress with the green homes grant. Thousands of vouchers have been issued, and the Department is doing its bit daily to ensure that we issue more vouchers to those who have applied and have more installers coming on to the system.
Question
The north Wales Mersey Dee region has the potential to be at the centre of a green industrial revolution, from Wylfa Newydd and offshore wind to a gigafactory, hydrogen production and carbon capture, but there is also great interest in harnessing tidal energy, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd West (Mr Jones) said, so will the Secretary of State take this on board? Will he also acknowledge the coastal protection benefits that a tidal lagoon could bring?
Minister reply
It is clear that there is huge support on this side of the House for marine energy projects, and as I have said, we want to look at any projects that come forward that can be supported by the contracts for difference auction process during next year and by any innovation funding that is available.
Sammy Wilson
DUP
East Antrim
Question
The Minister has described this as a labour of love, but it is more like a policy that Labour does love, with its price controls, subsidies, directing investment, telling firms what kind of cars they can produce and telling consumers what kind of cars they can buy, all at an eye-watering cost. According to his own Department, reducing CO2 emissions by 68% will cost between £50 billion and £100 billion a year. What effect will this have on the energy prices that consumers pay, on fuel poverty and on business competitiveness? Is it not a fact that this time last year people voted blue, they are now getting green, and this policy will put them in the red?
Minister reply
If the right hon. Gentleman looks at our manifesto, he will understand that, yes, people voted blue but they voted blue for green policies as well, and that is what we are implementing.
Ben Spencer
Con
Runnymede and Weybridge
Question
I welcome the energy White Paper, which charts an ambitious and, importantly, sustainable path to sustainability. I would like to raise a point about Jet Zero and the aviation sector, which is very important to my constituents. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, looking beyond the pandemic, sustainability will be a huge challenge to the aviation sector and that the world-leading work being done on Jet Zero by this Government will help to secure the future of aviation and support jobs and businesses in Runnymede and Weybridge?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is so right. We have established the Jet Zero Council, whose aim is to accelerate the development and adoption of new technologies so that we can develop our strategy to reach net zero in aviation.
Janet Daby
Lab
Lewisham East
Question
I welcome the statement by the Secretary of State. We need detailed plans that will show not only how we will reduce our carbon output but how we will protect the jobs and livelihoods of those who work in our oil and gas industries. Today’s White Paper gives them no answers and no hope. Does he agree that his Department must bring oil and gas workers with us as the industry evolves so that we can face a brighter, greener future together?
Minister reply
I agree with the hon. Lady. This whole plan is about jobs, jobs, jobs.
Question
I really welcome the Government’s green agenda, but banning the sale of diesel and petrol cars from 2030 came as a complete surprise. Does my right hon. Friend not agree that this will result in increased costs for the automotive industry, for businesses and for consumers?
Minister reply
I note my hon. Friend’s point, but of course there was a consultation on this: we have talked to the sector and, as I said, when we made the formal announcement on this the sector welcomed the changes.
David Mundell
Con
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Question
I very much welcome the White Paper. My personal regret is that my own constituency cannot have a new nuclear power station because of the Scottish National party’s obsessive and dogmatic opposition to nuclear, but may I press my right hon. Friend again on the issue of oil and gas, which is so important to Scotland? Some 100,000 jobs depend on the industry. I heard what he said in relation to the transition deal and its appearance in quarter 1 next year. That is very welcome, not just because it was a manifesto commitment by the Conservative party at the last general election, but because it will bring certainty to those 100,000 workers in that industry.
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend is a voice of reason.
Question
I thank the Secretary of State for his commitment to the future of SMRs and his target of 2030, but that might be too late for Hartlepool power station, which is due to be decommissioned in 2025, the first of the existing fleets. We have a skilled nuclear workforce and a safe nuclear transport infrastructure, so what hope can the Secretary of State give my constituents on the future of nuclear jobs in Hartlepool?
Minister reply
If there are parties out there who want to come forward with proposals for the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, we will of course look at them.
Question
These proposals are extremely welcome as they provide a route map to the zero-carbon future. They can also bring enormous economic benefits to areas such as Waveney in Suffolk by creating a very wide range of jobs, whether working on Sizewell C or in offshore wind, reusing our oil and gas infrastructure, running local community electricity schemes, or retrofitting our homes and places of work. Can the Secretary of State confirm that a radical new skills strategy will sit alongside the White Paper?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point.
Question
County Durham has a proud and long history of coalmining. Ironically, it has left the county with a new valuable resource of green energy: the thermal heat from former coalmines. Durham County Council and Newcastle University are working together to develop the Seaham garden village project, which will tap into this new heat source for 1,500 homes. May I ask the Secretary of State to look at that and see how similar products could be spread out across County Durham and other former coalfield areas?
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth is already looking at this issue and has shown a great deal of interest.
Question
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the Celtic sea, I am working with colleagues to try to facilitate floating wind turbines in the Celtic sea, which will help us to move towards net zero. Those involved in their construction are facing issues with the Crown Estate, so will my right hon. Friend do what he can to support this project and the clean energy it could generate?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend will know that in August the Crown Estate awarded seabed rights for the first floating wind project in Welsh waters of the Celtic sea.
Luke Evans
Con
Hinckley and Bosworth
Question
There are three broad aspects to the energy market: security, self-reliance, the environment, and affordability. Does my right hon. Friend agree that these aspects are addressed in the White Paper?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend raises an important point. Those issues are not mutually exclusive and form a golden thread through the White Paper. Nuclear is part of energy security as it ensures a diverse energy mix.
Justin Madders
Lab
Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
Question
The HyNet project is critical for protecting existing jobs and creating new ones in Ellesmere Port. May I urge the Secretary of State not to place all his hydrogen eggs in one basket?
Minister reply
I do not know if it is possible to place eggs in a hydrogen basket, but the hon. Gentleman makes an important point about level up across the country.
Question
This energy White Paper highlights two key points: negotiations with Sizewell C and commitment to wave and tidal energy. Can he confirm that access to Government financing will be key for reducing risk and costs of this project?
Minister reply
I am delighted that my hon. Friend thinks the paper is bristling with ideas and energy. On Sizewell C, we are looking at the financing model, which will create jobs during construction and beyond.
Question
The White Paper has taken a long time to develop but is really good work. However, we need more people trained in nuclear skills for future SMRs and Sizewell C projects. May I urge the Secretary of State to visit Hinkley and ensure adequate funding?
Minister reply
I would never describe my hon. Friend as tail-end Charlie; he raises an important point about skills training for sunrise industries of the future, which will be addressed in the refreshed industrial strategy.
Question
The Government are ambitious about developing fusion power and there is potential for Stroud to benefit from decommissioned nuclear sites. Will the Secretary of State tell us more about the benefits of fusion power?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend raises an important point. The Government have committed over £400 million towards new UK fusion programmes, with the STEP programme launched this month and an open call for communities to apply as host sites.
Shadow Comment
Ed Miliband
Shadow Comment
While acknowledging the Secretary of State's commitment to combating climate change, Ed Miliband criticised the White Paper’s lack of ambition. He questioned why there was no mention of zero-emission electricity by 2035 and expressed concern over the limited emphasis on onshore wind, tidal power, and solar energy in the document. He also raised concerns about nuclear financing methods and UK's falling behind other countries in hydrogen technology investment. Miliband further highlighted that despite advocating for a green recovery, the government is not investing enough to meet targets such as 60% domestic manufacture of offshore wind turbines, leading to insufficient port infrastructure investments. Additionally, he pointed out the absence of a plan for workers transitioning from fossil fuel industries to renewable sectors and criticised the White Paper’s inadequate measures on home insulation and conversion to zero-carbon heating systems.
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