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27 Apr 2009 : Column 1126W—continued
Energy: EU Law
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he received the reasoned opinion from the European Commission in respect of the transposition and implementation of the Energy Services Directive; and if he will make a statement. [270820]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 24 April 2009]: The Government received a reasoned opinion on directive 2006/32/EU on energy end-use efficiency and energy services from the EU Commission dated 2 February 2009. The Government are fully committed to the energy efficiency aims of the directive and ensuring these are fully met in the United Kingdom. They have responded to the commission with a detailed explanation of the measures which are now in place to transpose and implement the directive’s requirements and of some minor outstanding points, and will continue to work closely with the commission in this regard.
Energy: Subsidies
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Johannesburg Summit agreement on phasing out energy subsidies which inhibit sustainable development; and if he will make a statement. [265218]
Joan Ruddock:
This Government are committed to better understanding both the extent and distribution of subsidies to energy sources, and the impact of such subsidies on trade, development and climate change.
The Department for International Development has recently committed £300,000 over a four year period (starting 2008-09) to a major research project being undertaken by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The project will clarify the scale of fossil fuel subsidies and their impacts on sustainable development, and propose measures to reduce, eliminate or redirect these where appropriate.
At the London Energy Meeting in December, where over 35 countries were represented (including the main consumers and producers of oil, and leading companies and international organisations), participants agreed on the importance of measures to promote stability in the oil market, and the importance of promoting energy efficient, and carbon-reducing technologies. Participants also noted that better-functioning markets would give more consistent price signals to enable producer and consumer countries to have greater confidence in making investment and purchasing decisions.
Insulation: Hampshire
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent from the public purse on insulating the homes of pensioners in (a) Test Valley borough, (b) the ceremonial county of Hampshire and (c) the City of Southampton in each of the last five years. [261546]
Joan Ruddock: Funding to encourage take-up of energy efficiency measures in Great Britain is available primarily through two schemes: the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Warm Front, but only Warm Front is funded from the public purse. The tables illustrate the investment made by Warm Front in insulation measures to improve the energy efficiency of householders over 60 in (a) Test Valley borough, (b) the ceremonial county of Hampshire and (c) the City of Southampton in each year since 2005.
CERT is operated and funded by the six major energy suppliers, which are required to meet targets by encouraging households to take-up energy efficiency measures, including insulation and high-efficiency lights and appliances. Ofgem, the scheme administrator, does not collect data on energy supplier spend. However, based on the costs of the measures promoted by energy suppliers, we estimate that the overall spend by energy suppliers on delivering their CERT obligations across Great Britain will exceed £3 billion over the period 2008-11.
| Test Valley | |||
| £ | |||
| Over 60 | Under 60 | Total | |
| Ceremonial County of Hampshire | |||
| £ | |||
| Over 60 | Under 60 | Total | |
| Southampton | |||
| £ | |||
| Over 60 | Under 60 | Total | |
Insulation: Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what effect the planned changes to the carbon dioxide emissions reduction target announced on 12 February 2009 will have on achievement of the Government’s target of insulating cavity walls. [270558]
Joan Ruddock: The central proposal in the CERT amendment consultation of February 2009 is for a 20 per cent. increase to the carbon saving obligation on energy suppliers, to set an enhanced ambition of 185 MtCO2 by March 2011. As a market mechanism, it is at energy suppliers’ discretion how they choose to meet this more ambitious target. Insulation remains one of the most cost effective measures at their disposal to promote. Of suppliers’ savings towards their current targets in the first nine months of the scheme, 62 per cent. came from insulation.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what target has been set for the number of (a) lofts and (b) cavity walls to be insulated in each of the next three years. [270559]
Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced last year an ambition to insulate six million homes by 2011. Further to this, we proposed in the Heat and Energy Saving Strategy consultation to offer all homes the opportunity to have lofts and cavities insulated, where practicable, by 2015. However, we have not set annual targets for insulation or any other specific measure.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) lofts and (b) cavity walls have been insulated in each of the last three years. [270560]
Joan Ruddock: The latest available full-year figures cover the three-year period of the Energy Efficiency Commitment (April 2005-March 2008). These show annual professional installation figures in thousands, as follows:
| Loft insulation | Cavity wall insulation | |
Additional lofts and cavities were insulated under the Warm Front Scheme and Decent Homes programme.
Nuclear Power Stations: Public Consultation
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to inform members of the public of its consultation process in respect of the 11 sites identified for potential new nuclear power stations in England and Wales. [270468]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government will consult on the draft Nuclear National Policy Statement, which will contain the results of its assessment of the suitability of the 11 sites, later in the year. Detailed plans for this consultation are not yet in place.
However, the Department has created a leaflet detailing the steps at which the public can have their say in the siting process. Since January 2009, 28,500 hard copies have been sent out in English and 3,000 in Welsh and this leaflet is also available at:
In addition to this, the 11 nominations have been made available to the public on this website and members of the public will be able to comment on those nominations from 15 April to 14 May this year. This is in addition to the consultation on the draft list of sites which will take place later this year and was introduced in response to comments made during the Government's consultation on the SSA process last year.
The Government have taken various steps to inform people about the opportunity to comment on nominations. In particular, it was advertised in 46 local newspapers around sites. The titles were chosen with input from the relevant local authorities.
In addition, the Department's press notice and ministerial contact with national media meant that there was extensive regional and national press coverage of the opportunity to comment on the sites, and an email alert was sent to over 1,100 stakeholders who have registered with the Office for Nuclear Development as interested parties.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the Department will spend on publicising its consultation on the proposed sites for new nuclear power stations. [270470]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government will consult on the draft Nuclear National Policy Statement, which will contain the results of its assessment of the suitability of the 11 sites, later in the year. Detailed plains for this consultation are not yet in place. However, the Department has created a leaflet outlining how the public can have their say in the siting process. Since January 2009, 28,500 hard copies have been sent out in English and 3,000 in Welsh, at a cost of £10,521 so far.
In addition to this, the 11 nominations have been made available to the public on a dedicated website and members of the public will be able to comment on those nominations from 15 April to 14 May this year. This is in addition to the consultation on the draft list of sites which will take place later this year and was introduced in response to comments made during the Government's consultation on the SSA process last year.
The Government have taken various steps to inform people about the opportunity to comment on nominations. In particular, it was advertised in 46 local newspapers around sites. The titles were chosen with input from the relevant local authorities. In addition, the Department's press notice and ministerial contact with national media meant that there was extensive regional and national press coverage of the opportunity to comment on the sites, and an email alert was sent to over 1,100 stakeholders who have registered with the Office for Nuclear Development as interested parties.
Renewable Energy
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many renewable energy plants there are in each region; and what the generating capacity of each plant is. [270348]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The table shows the number of renewable energy plants in each English region, plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the total installed capacity for each region or nation.
The capacity of plants that have been credited under the Renewables Obligation scheme can be found on the Ofgem ROC Register at:
https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportViewer.aspx?ReportPath=/Renewables/Accreditation/AccreditedStationsExternalPublic&;ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=1
| Renewable energy plants in England, Scotland, Wales and NI as at November 2008 | ||
| Region | Number of schemes | Installed capacity |
| Source: AEA Technology | ||
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