Speeches by Young.

“Absolutely—it is almost as though my hon. Friend has read the next section of my speech. I was about to say that marine renewables will also boost jobs and businesses throughout the supply chain, and will be part of the solution to the energy crisis that has hit people hard in recent years. Sadly, we are living in the …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing this important debate and on his efforts to keep this issue on the agenda in Parliament. I want to reinforce the point he made about the Crown Estate Commission.…”

“Okay. Finally on battery storage, you have talked about discussions with the industry and so on; what impact do you think the support for battery storage systems will have on the cost of the mission to have clean power by the end of 2030?”

“Secretary of State, you have talked a lot about clean power and its importance for lowering energy bills in the long term, but NESO’s Clean Power 2030 advice warned that higher levels of CCS and hydrogen deployment could mean that gas still sets the price of electricity in up to 47% of periods. Is it not therefore misl…”

“A priority recommendation of the Climate Change Committee’s progress report last year was to remove policy levies from electricity bills. Obviously there are several ways of doing this, such as moving them to gas bills or general taxation. What are your preferred solutions to make electricity cheaper?”

“Indeed, if fewer people are using gas, that will become even worse.”

“Do you intend progress the green mortgages consultation from 2020, to help private homeowners to take on home energy improvements?”

“Turning now to long-duration electricity storage and batteries. Do you think the new cap-and-floor mechanism on its own is going to be enough to deliver the long-duration electricity storage we need by 2030? Could your Department be doing more to facilitate co-location of battery energy storage systems alongside genera…”

“On the point around the co-location of battery energy storage systems alongside generation, what you can do to facilitate that?”

“So there will potentially be positives for the cost of energy for consumers but also potentially costs in delivering it?”

“I thank the Minister for that clarification. In conclusion, I welcome the Bill and the protections it provides, but I urge Ministers to accept the Liberal Democrat amendments put forward by my hon. Friends the Members for Taunton and Wellington and for St Albans (Daisy Cooper).”

“I am sure that all Members have plenty of examples in their inboxes of why this Bill is so needed. Recent cases in my inbox have ranged from someone who had to wait two years for a boiler to be fixed, to someone who has a home so damp that they cannot walk through it without shoes on, as the carpets are permanently wet…”

“Following up one of the things you said, you talked about getting the auctions right. Can you briefly say what you mean by that?”

“Even though we still have this ongoing need for dispatchable power, to what extent do you think that decarbonising the power system will in fact shield customers from international gas prices?”

“Yes, 47% of periods.”

“I have two further questions, and you may give the same answer to both of those as well. NESO’s advice indicates that gas could still be used in 47% of periods under the Government’s clean power targets, so are the Government being less than honest with the public in their suggestion that clean power by 2030 will prote…”

“Turning to hydrogen and gas, in your 2023 report, “Delivering a reliable decarbonised power system”, you warn that the use of blue hydrogen at scale would mean continued exposure to international gas prices through reliance on imported gas. Do you have the same concerns about carbon capture and storage?”

“Finally, on electricity supply, your top recommendation is to reduce the cost of electricity by removing policy costs. Where should those go instead?”

“It will give you more time to think about that one. In light of the power cuts caused by Storm Darragh in December, does more need to be done to increase the resilience of existing and future energy infrastructure?”

“Perhaps you could write to us about that later.”