Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2026
13 contributions
Peak Cluster Pipeline and Project
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger, although the debate has probably not been conducted in the best way to discuss this topic. I draw the attention of the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) to the recent Adjournment debate secured by her colleague the hon. Member for …
That is not what I said at all, Sir Roger. The debate has been perfectly in order, but I do not think the public watching will have got much from it. That is my assessment and, I am sure, the assessment of many others watching. As I was saying, I encourage the right hon. Lady, if she did not see the…
+11 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
8 July 2026
Greenhouse Gas Removals Sector
May I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) on securing a debate on this important topic? I thank him for all his engagement on this and many other issues, and for his leadership on the energy transition. In the rising noise in and outside this place against facts on the clim…
Commons
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Point of Order
I am very happy to answer, because I responded to all the right hon. Lady’s written parliamentary questions, as I always do. In my answers, I set out very clearly that this is not a Government project so the Government do not have all the details. It is a private project, and as with any other priva…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
7 contributions
Topical Questions
I love Bellshill, and it was a pleasure to visit the other day to see this fantastic facility opening just across my constituency boundary. More than 300 wind turbines are being maintained and operated from the facility. That is a good example showing that the clean energy mission is about not just …
The hon. Lady could go on all day reading out the things that this Government are already going to do. We want to see much more community ownership, because it matters to us that communities own their future energy, and that people keep the wealth in their communities to invest it in the things that…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
3 contributions
Community-owned Renewable Energy
We love community energy and we are determined to see much more of it all across the country. Through the local power plan, which we published recently, we are rolling out the biggest expansion of community energy in British history. By 2030, Great British Energy, which is delivering for the people …
That sounds like a great project, and I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend, as I would anyone across the House who has exciting community energy projects in their area. The local power plan partly deals with investment, but it also deals with those questions of how we get regulation right so that…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
3 contributions
Agrivoltaics
The Government closely follow developments in the agrivoltaics sector and support innovative technologies, for instance through initiatives funded by UK Research and Innovation. In the solar road map that we have published, the Government and industry have committed themselves to exploring future re…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we are in favour of innovation wherever we can deploy solar. He talks about solar on reservoirs, which is absolutely an opportunity that we want to explore, but we also want to look at how agrivoltaic technologies can be deployed, and we are supporting the Uni…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
5 contributions
Nuclear Energy Sites: Scotland
Ministers commissioned Great British Energy Nuclear’s study of Scotland’s potential for new nuclear last autumn. That study indicates that Scotland has land areas with high potential for future development. We remain open to discussions with the Scottish Government on opportunities for new nuclear i…
First, the hon. Gentleman knows that in every single opinion poll a majority of Scots show that they support nuclear energy. Secondly, the hon. Gentleman knows that every single day nuclear baseload is powering Scotland, and that the last nuclear power station, Torness, is about to close with no rep…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
4 contributions
Energy Security
Great Britain’s energy system is robust and reliable, and delivers 24/7 for households and businesses across the county. However, in an era of geopolitical uncertainty, we need to do all that we can to strengthen our energy security here at home. The answer is for us to move away from fossil fuels, …
A shout-out to the energy and environment parliamentary knowledge scheme—there are some Members of this House who would really benefit from gaining some of that knowledge, I think. I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issue—I heard a lot of cheers from the Labour Benches. Geothermal has an importa…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
7 July 2026
2 contributions
Draft Contracts for Difference (Definition of Eligible Generator) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Contracts for Difference (Definition of Eligible Generator) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
Thank you, Mr Wishart. Not willing to be half jacket on, half jacket off during my speech, I will continue as I am at the moment, but it is a genuine…
I repeat these points regularly, but the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, often talks about his party’s “intention to do”, “ambition to do”, “we aimed to do”, but in 14 years the Conservatives did nothing to build any new nuclear, and that is the record he has …
Commons
Statutory Instrument
6 July 2026
2 contributions
Draft Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. Laid before the House on 14 May, this statutory instrument seeks to make technical improvements and c…
For the third time, let me welcome the hon. Member for Aberdeen South—although I think he was in a Delegated Legislation Committee in his first week in this place. I am not sure whether his SNP predecessor was ever in a Delegated Legislation Committee in all his years in this place, so the hon. Gent…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
Nationally Significant Energy Infrastructure Projects
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Ms Vaz.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter) not only for securing the debate but for all the conversations we have had. She should never fear repeating the same message; it is important. She does a gre…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
29 June 2026
3 contributions
Draft Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026.
It is a pleasure to serve in this Committee under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 14 May. Before I outlin…
Hear, hear!
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
4 contributions
Carbon Capture Pipeline Projects: Cheshire
I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) on securing the debate and on her work gathering her constituents’ views. I genuinely welcome the tone that she has taken. As a personal reflection, I miss the fact that a great many subjects that we used to debate in t…
I will take interventions in a moment—I have clearly started something. The major thrust of the hon. Lady’s speech was about how the voices of communities are heard in the consultation process.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
9 June 2026
2 contributions
Draft Contracts for Difference (Allocation) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Contracts for Difference (Allocation) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
The draft regulations were laid before the House on 20 April. They make several minor and technical amendments to improve the operational efficiency of the contracts for d…
I welcome the comments of both hon. Gentlemen, in particular those of the hon. Member for West Dorset, who spoke to the actual draft regulations. I thank him for his support. I also thank the official Opposition for their support for all that we do in energy policy, or so it seemed from the speech o…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
5 contributions
Transition from Fossil Fuels: Progress
With that new-found consensus on the clean power mission, I am happy to report to the House that we are making good progress towards our targets. We delivered the most successful renewables auction in history through allocation round 7, securing enough home-grown power for 11 million homes, as well …
The hon. Member is right to champion her local community. I have met with those involved in the Dorset super cluster before, and I am happy to do so again, because we do see huge potential for the clean energy transition right across the country. As she rightly says, it is also about how we create g…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
4 contributions
Topical Questions
I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he has done to support the workers from Grangemouth. I wrote to him earlier this week on the case of his two constituents. The training fund was set up to provide that support. We will continue to look at it, and I am happy to meet him to discuss it further.
The hon. Member is right about the ambition, and that is why we commissioned the independent review by my noble Friend Lord Whitehead. We will respond to that review in due course, and we are ambitious about the role that GGRs can play.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
2 contributions
Chinese-manufactured Solar Panels
The provisions under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 drive industry action via due diligence and transparency to tackle forced labour in supply chains for solar panels. All procurement conducted under Government and GBE contracts is required to meet those standards.
As I said during the passage of the Great British Energy Bill, I agree with the hon. Member about the importance of tackling modern slavery as a country across supply chains and across the economy. It is right that we take action. We are tackling forced labour where we find it in global supply chain…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
2 contributions
EU Internal Electricity Market
Co-operation with our EU counterparts is vitally important when it comes to energy security. I recently travelled to the WindEurope conference in Madrid, where I joined other European Ministers to discuss how recent global events have shown that we have to work together to deliver on our energy secu…
I agree with the hon. Member. We have this bizarre situation where we have chuntering from the Opposition Front Benchers about the fact that we have interconnections with Europe. We have had them for decades, and they are important to our energy security. That was the case under both Governments, an…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 April 2026
6 contributions
Ground-mounted Solar Panels: Alternatives
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I congratulate the hon. and gallant Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) on securing it, particularly because I unfortunately missed his Adjournment debate, which I heard was one of the most enthusiastic Adjournment debates we have ever had on this topic. I …
I was going to come to the trading of statistics later in my speech, but let me do it now, because there is a fundamental point around the disingenuous trading of statistics on land use. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) made a valiant effort at trying to correct that, but l…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Oil and Gas
This has been an interesting debate at times—at other times, perhaps it has not been—but it is a timely and important debate, as many people sitting at home will be watching the situation in the middle east concerned about the cost of living, our energy security and the impact that our energy polici…
I was going to come to the right hon. Gentleman’s contribution later. He is also very likeable—he kindly said that of me and I appreciated it. He talked about “lunacy made flesh”; in the past, he has remarked that his own party’s policy of cancelling auctions for renewables has been lunacy. The trut…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
4 contributions
Topical Questions
I congratulate all those in my hon. Friend’s constituency on what sounds like a fantastic project, and it is an example of what we want to see all across the country. The local power plan unlocks £1 billion of investment, with the ambition that communities right across the UK should be able to own a…
We do work very well together, actually, contrary to what it might appear from the hon. Member’s contribution. He suggests, quite wrongly—twice now—that Scotland is generating all this electricity by itself. Of course, those projects are funded by bill payers across the UK investing in that infrastr…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Electricity Grid Connections
We are taking a strategic approach to planning grid capacity and halving transmission build times through reforms to consenting, regulation and supply chains. We are working with the National Energy System Operator and Ofgem to deliver on radical connections reform, prioritising those projects that …
The hon. Lady asks an incredibly important question, and I share her frustration. I have reflected that frustration to all those involved in this process. It is worth remembering that we had more than 600 GW in a queue, and that this process has cleared out 300 GW. That was incredibly complex, and i…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
2 contributions
Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects: Electric Lines
The nationally significant infrastructure project regime provides a clear consenting route for nationally significant electricity lines, but processes have been too slow and we are determined to change that. Our reforms support the faster delivery of infrastructure, essential for strengthening our e…
First, obviously I cannot comment from the Dispatch Box on a live application process. I have met a number of MPs to talk about this issue, and we are looking at all the available information. Ofgem has a role in regulating the individual energy companies that are part of this mix. I am not sure wha…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
3 contributions
Methane from Landfill Sites
Methane harvested from landfill sites enables the generation of around 2.5 TWh a year, which is around 1% of the UK’s electricity. Many of those assets receive a subsidy through the renewables obligation, which expires in 2027. That generation has a supportive, but limited, effect on energy security…
I reiterate that although methane harvested from such sites and used to generate electricity plays a role in electricity generation, it is less than 1% overall, so it is not an issue for our energy security. As the sites age, the amount of methane they omit reduces, and that reduction has been facto…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
3 contributions
Grid Capacity: West London
We are delivering the biggest upgrade to the grid since the 1960s, using strategic plans to identify where new capacity is needed and accelerating infrastructure build. In west London, network operators have used innovative measures to help new developments to connect, despite exceptionally high gro…
My hon. Friend is right that strategic infrastructure planning is crucial, which is why we are engaging in the first ever national strategic spatial energy plan, which will lead to a centralised strategic plan for the future of the network. We are also looking at how we manage demand projects such a…
+1 more contribution in this session