Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill - Second Reading
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, this has been a splendid little debate. I thank everyone who has taken part in it, and I particularly thank my noble friend Lord Whitty for presenting this important Bill to the House. I am pleased that he and other speakers have paid tribute to my personal friend Peter Ainsworth for the way in which he took the Bill through the House of Commons. Mr Ainsworth has made it a great deal easier in this House by agreeing to a series of government amendments as the Bill went through that House, which is why the Government are content with the Bill in exactly the form that it reaches us in today.
The principal purpose of the Bill, as my noble friend has described, is to promote green energy. As such, it is crucial for ensuring that the UK is able to deliver on its energy and climate change targets, for increasing our energy efficiency and for supporting the greater deployment of renewable or low-carbon technologies.
Energy efficiency and renewable and low-carbon sources have an important role to play as part of a long-term energy strategy. By contributing towards a United Kingdom target of reducing emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, they can help tackle climate change and can also increase the diversity and security of UK energy supplies, in exactly the way that the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, described in his speech.
Better energy efficiency will not only considerably reduce the overall energy demand but also support our ambitions to reduce fuel poverty. Focusing on low-carbon supplies ensures that we generate our energy in a cleaner and more sustainable way than fossil fuels do. Increasing the amount of renewable generating capacity not only adds to this, but also helps to meet the UK’s share of the EU 2020 renewable energy targets.
Carrying out any functions under the Bill requires that we have regard to this principal purpose as well as to the reduction of fuel poverty and the desirability of securing a diverse and viable long-term energy supply.
Clause 2 requires the Government to publish a strategy for the promotion of microgeneration in England. Prior to the publication of that strategy, the Government are required to consult the microgeneration industry, and to do so within six months of the Act coming into force. It is indeed a “must”, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said. As some of your Lordships will recall, the previous microgeneration strategy was published in March 2006 with the objective of creating the conditions for microgeneration to become a realistic alternative or a supplementary source of energy generation. We made considerable progress on that strategy and reported on achievements last year.
The purpose of the revised strategy would be to promote microgeneration defined as the use of plant for the production or generation of heat and electricity, where that plant has a generation or production capacity of less than 50 kilowatts in respect of electricity and 300 kilowatts thermal in respect of heat. The Government are keen to promote microgeneration, but believe that the 300-kilowatt thermal limit for heat technology adds real value to work that is already under way; for example, to allow consideration for larger-scale heating systems. Giving scope in the strategy to consider these wider developments will help in ensuring that microgeneration plays its part in achieving the 2020 renewable energy target and tackling climate change.
It is important that the new microgeneration strategy takes careful account of the strategies published in the summer and those to be published in the future relating to generation of electricity and heat from renewable or low-carbon sources. This should ensure that the new microgeneration strategy builds on the renewable energy strategy and the forthcoming heat and energy saving strategy.
It is difficult to be clear on the precise content of the strategy until the work begins in earnest. I do not therefore want to get into the details of what the strategy might contain, as that is for the consultation, but a number issues have already been raised, both before the Bill reached this House and in our debate this evening.
I shall deal first with supply chain issues. Here, work is in progress to develop industry skills in microgeneration. I understand that SummitSkills is doing some excellent work in developing the required standards and qualification units for both new entrants and existing workers. We want to reduce some of the current confusion in the marketplace and make it easier for designers and installers of microgeneration to know what training is required and how to go about it. The strategy may be able to help facilitate work in this area.
A systems approach, as opposed to a technology approach, has been raised. This looks at how the technologies interface and integrate with each other. Both storage and controls become technologies in themselves.
The microgeneration certification scheme (MCS) is now making good progress, although there is still much work to do. MCS has been opened up to new certification bodies, which is helping to create a competitive market for certification services. Certification has an important role to play in providing assurance to customers on the performance and quality of microgeneration installations. Connecting to the grid is another area where we might be able to do further work in the strategy.
We know that more needs to be done on information provision, to inform consumers and build confidence in microgeneration technologies. Those consumers who want to install microgeneration technologies require easy access to relevant information to inform their purchasing decisions. I have just highlighted some issues that we may consider in the future, but, as I have said, this will be covered in more detail as part of the consultation.
Clause 3 relates to microgeneration for dwelling houses and requires that, within six months of the Act coming into force, permitted development rights be introduced for domestic installations of micro wind turbines and air-source heat pumps. It will mean that householders wishing to install these technologies will be exempt from the time and cost associated with making a planning application. It will be a big step forward in promoting microgeneration and complement similar measures that the Government introduced last year for other domestic microgeneration technologies, including solar panels.
The noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, asked particularly about listed buildings. Listed buildings are already fully protected from unauthorised alteration by the requirement to obtain listed building consent. If permitted development rights were applicable to a listed building, they could not be exercised without first obtaining that listed building consent. I hope that that answers her question.
Clause 4 relates to microgeneration for non-domestic land, and requires that, within six months of the Act coming into force, consideration be given to extending permitted development rights for microgeneration technologies installed on non-domestic land. There is real scope here for green energy generation on non-domestic land, and we hope that, by our removing the burden of applying for planning permission, businesses and other groups will be more willing to do their bit to address climate change.
For the purpose of the clauses focused on permitted development rights, the definition of microgeneration uses the ordinary capacity limits of 50 kilowatts for the generation of electricity and 45 kilowatts thermal for the production of heat. The Government will very shortly publish a consultation document setting out our proposals for permitted development rights for dwelling houses and non-domestic land. The consultation document has been a long time coming, but some very complex technical and practical issues have required careful consideration. A particular sticking point in developing the proposals for wind turbines and air-source heat pumps for both dwelling houses and non-domestic land has been the problem of noise. We propose to consult on a noise level of 45 decibels for wind turbines and air-source heat pumps for both dwelling houses and non-domestic land allowed as permitted development. There are concerns about this noise limit and we will want to look carefully at the consultation responses. As for dwelling houses, we will review the effect of the amendment to the General Permitted Development Order as soon as reasonably practicable after the amendment has been in force for two years. This will provide an opportunity to assess how well the permitted development rights are working and particularly to assess the appropriateness of any noise limits that might be contained in the legislation.
Perhaps I may answer some of the points made in the debate. My noble friend Lord Giddens has helpfully written his own book, The Politics of Climate Change, published as recently as this April. I take the view that what my noble friend has written is very much in line with what is contained in the Bill, and it was the basis of his speech today. The message that the radical restructuring of energy, transport and production systems by a few pioneers is also the best chance of achieving technological breakthroughs essential to enable all human societies to adjust to climate change is one that all Members of this House can subscribe to.
My noble friend Lord Hunt of Chesterton referred to bureaucratic difficulties for small schemes and made the point that local authorities might be more involved in the process than central government. This is an issue to which we obviously need to pay some attention, but I would caution my noble friend on the question of amendments to the Bill. Although my noble friend Lord Whitty did not make this point, this is not a Bill that will stand a great deal of amendment in Committee if we are to achieve the objective of getting it into law by the end of this Session. However, my understanding is that the question of local government involvement is one that we can come back to.
The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, asked about the timetable for feed-in tariffs. The Government are committed to having feed-in tariffs in place in April 2010. The summer consultation, which concludes on 15 October 2009, sets out our proposals on how we intend the FIT schemes to work, including the proposed tariff levels. These proposals have been developed with input from the various stakeholders—energy industry trade associations, energy suppliers, Ofgem and the NGOs—and the consultation will constitute a more formal opportunity for all interested parties to have their say.
The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, also asked when the consultation on smart meters will be concluded. It already has and the government response is expected shortly.
The noble Baroness gave me notice of two other questions, for which I am very grateful because it allows me to get something on the record this evening. She asked about the electricity infrastructure and whether it would be able to support the level of air-source heat pumps that may be installed as a result of this legislation. It is undoubtedly the case that the legislation will lead to an increase in the installation of air-source heat pumps. That is indeed what it is all about. But our view is that the infrastructure will be able to cope with that demand.
The Government recognise that a key element of a future energy system is the network infrastructure to support and facilitate the shape of demand and supply in meeting our long-term climate change objectives. The Government are therefore considering how they will work with the regulator and in consultation with the industry to develop a long-term vision for the industry, including the investment that will help contribute to the government policy objectives including the ones contained in the Bill.
The noble Baroness also asked about microhydro. On that, I am pleased to announce that the Hydropower Good Practice Guidance for small-scale hydropower was published this August by the Environment Agency. The document describes how environmental concerns can be mitigated when planning hydropower schemes. It is a useful tool providing information on the design standards for hydropower to encourage its development while ensuring an appropriate level of environmental protection, and includes a checklist for developers on standards for flow, fish power, fish screening and flood risk assessment. In formulating the guidance, the EA has worked with the British Hydropower Association and consulted fisheries stakeholders.
Achieving our energy objectives requires action at all levels and we all have responsibility for safeguarding the future of our planet. The action that we can take as individuals can make a difference by providing benefits in terms of reducing energy bills and success in the fight against climate change and by avoiding the consequential higher costs of inaction now. The benefits far outweigh the costs with potential for job creation, economic security, technical innovation and investment. I hope very much that all your Lordships will join me in supporting this important Bill and that we will do our best to ensure that it reaches the statute book by the end of the current Session.
© Lords Hansard 13 October 2009
The principal purpose of the Bill, as my noble friend has described, is to promote green energy. As such, it is crucial for ensuring that the UK is able to deliver on its energy and climate change targets, for increasing our energy efficiency and for supporting the greater deployment of renewable or low-carbon technologies.
Energy efficiency and renewable and low-carbon sources have an important role to play as part of a long-term energy strategy. By contributing towards a United Kingdom target of reducing emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, they can help tackle climate change and can also increase the diversity and security of UK energy supplies, in exactly the way that the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, described in his speech.
Better energy efficiency will not only considerably reduce the overall energy demand but also support our ambitions to reduce fuel poverty. Focusing on low-carbon supplies ensures that we generate our energy in a cleaner and more sustainable way than fossil fuels do. Increasing the amount of renewable generating capacity not only adds to this, but also helps to meet the UK’s share of the EU 2020 renewable energy targets.
Carrying out any functions under the Bill requires that we have regard to this principal purpose as well as to the reduction of fuel poverty and the desirability of securing a diverse and viable long-term energy supply.
Clause 2 requires the Government to publish a strategy for the promotion of microgeneration in England. Prior to the publication of that strategy, the Government are required to consult the microgeneration industry, and to do so within six months of the Act coming into force. It is indeed a “must”, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said. As some of your Lordships will recall, the previous microgeneration strategy was published in March 2006 with the objective of creating the conditions for microgeneration to become a realistic alternative or a supplementary source of energy generation. We made considerable progress on that strategy and reported on achievements last year.
The purpose of the revised strategy would be to promote microgeneration defined as the use of plant for the production or generation of heat and electricity, where that plant has a generation or production capacity of less than 50 kilowatts in respect of electricity and 300 kilowatts thermal in respect of heat. The Government are keen to promote microgeneration, but believe that the 300-kilowatt thermal limit for heat technology adds real value to work that is already under way; for example, to allow consideration for larger-scale heating systems. Giving scope in the strategy to consider these wider developments will help in ensuring that microgeneration plays its part in achieving the 2020 renewable energy target and tackling climate change.
It is important that the new microgeneration strategy takes careful account of the strategies published in the summer and those to be published in the future relating to generation of electricity and heat from renewable or low-carbon sources. This should ensure that the new microgeneration strategy builds on the renewable energy strategy and the forthcoming heat and energy saving strategy.
It is difficult to be clear on the precise content of the strategy until the work begins in earnest. I do not therefore want to get into the details of what the strategy might contain, as that is for the consultation, but a number issues have already been raised, both before the Bill reached this House and in our debate this evening.
I shall deal first with supply chain issues. Here, work is in progress to develop industry skills in microgeneration. I understand that SummitSkills is doing some excellent work in developing the required standards and qualification units for both new entrants and existing workers. We want to reduce some of the current confusion in the marketplace and make it easier for designers and installers of microgeneration to know what training is required and how to go about it. The strategy may be able to help facilitate work in this area.
A systems approach, as opposed to a technology approach, has been raised. This looks at how the technologies interface and integrate with each other. Both storage and controls become technologies in themselves.
The microgeneration certification scheme (MCS) is now making good progress, although there is still much work to do. MCS has been opened up to new certification bodies, which is helping to create a competitive market for certification services. Certification has an important role to play in providing assurance to customers on the performance and quality of microgeneration installations. Connecting to the grid is another area where we might be able to do further work in the strategy.
We know that more needs to be done on information provision, to inform consumers and build confidence in microgeneration technologies. Those consumers who want to install microgeneration technologies require easy access to relevant information to inform their purchasing decisions. I have just highlighted some issues that we may consider in the future, but, as I have said, this will be covered in more detail as part of the consultation.
Clause 3 relates to microgeneration for dwelling houses and requires that, within six months of the Act coming into force, permitted development rights be introduced for domestic installations of micro wind turbines and air-source heat pumps. It will mean that householders wishing to install these technologies will be exempt from the time and cost associated with making a planning application. It will be a big step forward in promoting microgeneration and complement similar measures that the Government introduced last year for other domestic microgeneration technologies, including solar panels.
The noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, asked particularly about listed buildings. Listed buildings are already fully protected from unauthorised alteration by the requirement to obtain listed building consent. If permitted development rights were applicable to a listed building, they could not be exercised without first obtaining that listed building consent. I hope that that answers her question.
Clause 4 relates to microgeneration for non-domestic land, and requires that, within six months of the Act coming into force, consideration be given to extending permitted development rights for microgeneration technologies installed on non-domestic land. There is real scope here for green energy generation on non-domestic land, and we hope that, by our removing the burden of applying for planning permission, businesses and other groups will be more willing to do their bit to address climate change.
For the purpose of the clauses focused on permitted development rights, the definition of microgeneration uses the ordinary capacity limits of 50 kilowatts for the generation of electricity and 45 kilowatts thermal for the production of heat. The Government will very shortly publish a consultation document setting out our proposals for permitted development rights for dwelling houses and non-domestic land. The consultation document has been a long time coming, but some very complex technical and practical issues have required careful consideration. A particular sticking point in developing the proposals for wind turbines and air-source heat pumps for both dwelling houses and non-domestic land has been the problem of noise. We propose to consult on a noise level of 45 decibels for wind turbines and air-source heat pumps for both dwelling houses and non-domestic land allowed as permitted development. There are concerns about this noise limit and we will want to look carefully at the consultation responses. As for dwelling houses, we will review the effect of the amendment to the General Permitted Development Order as soon as reasonably practicable after the amendment has been in force for two years. This will provide an opportunity to assess how well the permitted development rights are working and particularly to assess the appropriateness of any noise limits that might be contained in the legislation.
Perhaps I may answer some of the points made in the debate. My noble friend Lord Giddens has helpfully written his own book, The Politics of Climate Change, published as recently as this April. I take the view that what my noble friend has written is very much in line with what is contained in the Bill, and it was the basis of his speech today. The message that the radical restructuring of energy, transport and production systems by a few pioneers is also the best chance of achieving technological breakthroughs essential to enable all human societies to adjust to climate change is one that all Members of this House can subscribe to.
My noble friend Lord Hunt of Chesterton referred to bureaucratic difficulties for small schemes and made the point that local authorities might be more involved in the process than central government. This is an issue to which we obviously need to pay some attention, but I would caution my noble friend on the question of amendments to the Bill. Although my noble friend Lord Whitty did not make this point, this is not a Bill that will stand a great deal of amendment in Committee if we are to achieve the objective of getting it into law by the end of this Session. However, my understanding is that the question of local government involvement is one that we can come back to.
The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, asked about the timetable for feed-in tariffs. The Government are committed to having feed-in tariffs in place in April 2010. The summer consultation, which concludes on 15 October 2009, sets out our proposals on how we intend the FIT schemes to work, including the proposed tariff levels. These proposals have been developed with input from the various stakeholders—energy industry trade associations, energy suppliers, Ofgem and the NGOs—and the consultation will constitute a more formal opportunity for all interested parties to have their say.
The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, also asked when the consultation on smart meters will be concluded. It already has and the government response is expected shortly.
The noble Baroness gave me notice of two other questions, for which I am very grateful because it allows me to get something on the record this evening. She asked about the electricity infrastructure and whether it would be able to support the level of air-source heat pumps that may be installed as a result of this legislation. It is undoubtedly the case that the legislation will lead to an increase in the installation of air-source heat pumps. That is indeed what it is all about. But our view is that the infrastructure will be able to cope with that demand.
The Government recognise that a key element of a future energy system is the network infrastructure to support and facilitate the shape of demand and supply in meeting our long-term climate change objectives. The Government are therefore considering how they will work with the regulator and in consultation with the industry to develop a long-term vision for the industry, including the investment that will help contribute to the government policy objectives including the ones contained in the Bill.
The noble Baroness also asked about microhydro. On that, I am pleased to announce that the Hydropower Good Practice Guidance for small-scale hydropower was published this August by the Environment Agency. The document describes how environmental concerns can be mitigated when planning hydropower schemes. It is a useful tool providing information on the design standards for hydropower to encourage its development while ensuring an appropriate level of environmental protection, and includes a checklist for developers on standards for flow, fish power, fish screening and flood risk assessment. In formulating the guidance, the EA has worked with the British Hydropower Association and consulted fisheries stakeholders.
Achieving our energy objectives requires action at all levels and we all have responsibility for safeguarding the future of our planet. The action that we can take as individuals can make a difference by providing benefits in terms of reducing energy bills and success in the fight against climate change and by avoiding the consequential higher costs of inaction now. The benefits far outweigh the costs with potential for job creation, economic security, technical innovation and investment. I hope very much that all your Lordships will join me in supporting this important Bill and that we will do our best to ensure that it reaches the statute book by the end of the current Session.
© Lords Hansard 13 October 2009