Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Energy Transition Projects: Scotland

Tuesday 23 May 2023 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial support for energy transition projects in Scotland includes investment in green hydrogen and contracts for difference for renewable electricity projects.
  • The Minister acknowledged the SNP's energy transition efforts but emphasized UK Government support through the North Sea transition deal and 80 million funding for clean technologies.
  • Priti Patel asked for assurance that the Government are considering all infrastructure options to connect new offshore renewables to the grid in East Anglia.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Richard Thomson
Climate Scotland Energy
Context

The question is prompted by ongoing discussions about energy transition in Scotland, with a focus on the need for financial support from the UK Government.

Question

What steps he is taking to support energy transition projects in Scotland. The SNP-led Scottish Government have continued to announce more support for energy transition in Scotland, this month pushing on with investment in green hydrogen that will deliver 5 GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030.

Answer from Andrew Bowie

We are supporting Scotland's energy transition through the North sea transition deal. Additionally, 52 of the 178 projects awarded contracts for difference for renewable electricity are in Scotland. We are also supporting the clean technologies of the future with over £80 million-worth of funding through our net zero innovation portfolio to 81 locations within Scotland.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about putting money on the table was not directly addressed; instead, general support was mentioned without new financial commitments.

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Q2 Richard Thomson
Climate Scotland Energy
Context

There is ongoing debate about the need for additional funding from the UK Government to support Scotland's energy transition, particularly in comparison to the substantial investment made by the SNP-led government.

Question

The SNP-led Scottish Government have continued to announce more support for energy transition in Scotland, this month pushing on with investment in green hydrogen that will deliver 5 GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030. The Minister says that the UK Government are supporting that, but they are certainly not putting any money on the table up front as the Scottish Government have through their £500 million energy transition fund for the north-east of Scotland.

Answer from Andrew Bowie

I thank the hon. Member for his predictable question. He was obviously not listening to the answer I gave to his first question: 52 of the 178 projects awarded contracts for difference are in Scotland, and we are also supporting green technologies to the value of £80 million.

Not addressed: The specific ask about putting money on the table was completely avoided.

How: Accusation Of Not Listening

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Q3 Priti Patel Con Witham
Climate Energy
Context

There is a need to connect new offshore renewables to the grid, and there are specific concerns in the east of England about ensuring this infrastructure is adequately addressed.

Question

Energy transition projects affect the entire United Kingdom. I thank the Minister for his engagement with MPs across the east of England on the impact of 100 miles of pylons to connect new offshore renewables to the grid. Will he give my constituents an assurance that the Government are doing everything possible to look at an offshore grid for the east of England?

Answer from Andrew Bowie

I thank my right hon. Friend for her question. It was a great pleasure to be in East Anglia last week and to engage with community organisations and MPs from that part of the world. I confirm that all options are on the table as we look at what infrastructure we can and need to build to move us forward into our net zero future.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q4 Alan Brown SNP
Climate Scotland
Context

There is concern about the lack of dedicated funds for carbon capture and storage projects in Scotland, despite overall UK Government commitments.

Question

It is nearly 10 years since a £1 billion carrot was dangled for Peterhead carbon capture and storage, which was then withdrawn post-referendum. We are now getting told that the UK Government have £20 billion to spend on carbon capture and storage, but the reality is that not one penny of that is ringfenced for Scotland.

Answer from Andrew Bowie

I thank the hon. Member for that question, but frankly I am fed up with the SNP talking Scotland down, and indeed talking the Acorn project down.

Not addressed: The specific ask about track 2 status was not addressed; instead, criticism of the SNP was made.

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Q5 Alan Brown SNP
Brexit Energy
Context

There is concern about the financial impact of Brexit on energy bills, including additional costs that could have been used for grid upgrades and other projects.

Question

It would be good if the Minister gave us certainty instead of just blustering. Energy UK has confirmed that the Brexit trading arrangements are adding more than £1 billion a year to our energy bills and, last year, nearly £5 billion was paid in constraint payments.

Answer from Andrew Bowie

When it comes to bluster, SNP Members are certainly subject matter experts. On support for Scottish billpayers, as I said, over the past winter this Government were paying half of everybody's energy bills in this United Kingdom.

Not addressed: The specific ask about job impacts was not addressed; instead, criticism was directed towards SNP members.

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