Context
The UK has approximately 15 GW of offshore wind capacity, which currently supplies about 17% of its energy. To meet the government's 2030 targets, this capacity needs to increase to 40-50 GW over five years, necessitating significant reliance on Chinese infrastructure and technology.
Question
What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the resilience of the national grid against the potential disruption of offshore energy infrastructure? The UK currently has about 15 GW of offshore wind capacity, which supplies about 17% of our energy. In order to reach the Government’s 2030 targets, this will have to increase by three times to 40 to 50 GW in just five years, and to achieve that we will have to rely on Chinese wind infrastructure and technology. What specific risk assessment has the Government carried out into the impact of this exposed vulnerability and reliance on China for what will be a significant amount of our energy supplies?
Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
In every single case, the Government make an assessment and we look at the national security implications seriously. The reason supply chains in this country are weak is that they were underfunded and under-invested for years by the Conservatives. When they took ambitious steps to move towards clean power, there could have been a decision to build the supply chains here, but instead they chose to rely on foreign suppliers; we are reversing that trend, though it cannot happen overnight.
Not addressed: The specific risk assessment and details of vulnerabilities related to reliance on Chinese infrastructure were not provided. The answerer focused on historical context and the current government's approach rather than providing a detailed risk analysis.
How: Historical Context, Comparison With Previous Government
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