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Draft National Policy Statement for Fossil Fuel Electricity Generating Infrastructure (EN-2)

No, there is a distinction between the figure of 78 per cent and the load factor, which is around 20 per cent—I do not have the exact figure for that. My point is that noble Lords referred to the cold weather in early January and presented a picture of turbines never going round. I was making the point that individual turbines generate energy between 70 and 80 per cent of the time. That is not the load factor: I accept that. I also accept that we need alternative back-up for wind. However, there are options to reduce the amount that we need, including greater demand-side management and the use of non-intermittent technologies as well. We have to make sure that the system as a whole is balanced. I am glad to report to noble Lords that part of the work that we are doing at the moment in the energy market assessment is looking at how the mix comes together, how we will meet the 2020 target that we have agreed to, and how we will ensure that this is as cost-effective as possible. The noble Lord, Lord Willoughby de Broke, expressed doubts about whether we could reach our renewable energy target, particularly with the emphasis on wind. I have to tell him that I am confident that we can do so, and will pray in aid the very successful Crown estate third round leasing exercise earlier in the year which revealed a huge appetite on the part of investors and developers for developing offshore wind.