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

Part of the value of these debates is that if noble Lords identify areas where they think that the national policy statements are not clear, it provides an opportunity for the department to take a look at them, and I was going to offer to do that. I wanted only to make it clear that in relation to the appraisal for sustainability, while he may think that this does not cover the point sufficiently, it is not as if the issue has been left out. However, I accept that he has raised points which he may not think have been covered in the departmental response. I can certainly give him an undertaking to look carefully at this matter. The noble Lord also asked about communications and said that they were pivotal. I agree with him, and would make the point that no application can be considered by the IPC unless extensive consultation has already taken place. If the IPC is not satisfied with that, it simply will not accept the application and it will not be able to go through the formal procedure. The noble Lord, Lord Reay, asked whether we have a target for gas storage. We do not have a target, but I would remind him that our position is rather different from continental countries with no indigenous supplies. The fact that we have North Sea supplies is a great asset and will continue to be one for many years to come. However, we want more storage facilities. There has been good news recently. A licence was issued for the gateway gas storage project in the east Irish Sea offshore from Barrow. Many projects are in the pipeline, and I hope that many of them come to fruition. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, that the Electricity Network Strategy Group has done some important work. It has identified that we need major investment over the next 10 years; I think that it priced it at about £4.7 billion. How does that relate to the IPC? It is a group of key stakeholders and experts under the joint chairmanship of our good friends in Ofgem and my department. As we state in EN-1, we believe that that represents the best available view of the optimum strategy to reinforce the network infrastructure. That makes it relevant for the IPC when considering applications. Of course, the report suggests various scenarios; it is not exhaustive. Applications may come forward which are not included or suggested in the report, so they must be considered on their merits by the IPC. The noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, in particular, mentioned smart meters and the supergrid. Smart meters are an essential foundation; we are very committed to them. Clearly, the development of what is described as a supergrid will be very helpful in balancing the grid and ensuring that we use energy in the most effective way. The local distribution companies will have an important role to play in that. Time moves on. I would like to say two things about biomass. First, noble Lords are right to raise the issue of sustainability of biomass. That is very important. Sustainability is dealt with under the renewables obligation. That requires generators of more than 50 kilowatts to report annually to Ofgem on the biomass that they are using. The European Commission produced a report on biomass and actions that member states can take on sustainability. I must say that we had hoped that it would produce a mandatory scheme. It has not, but we will pursue that. I fully accept the points made about sustainability. On imports, the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, is right. My understanding is that, notwithstanding the fact that biomass can be imported by ship from Canada, it is not necessarily negative in its carbon footprint, but sustainability is very important. The noble Lord, Lord Willoughby de Broke, has, alas, left us. However, as he raised the issue of the chief executive of the IPC, I should place the position on record. The IPC states that it is committed to openness. It publishes a register of interests on its website, where information on the commissioners’ and staff interests is freely available. The chief executive is currently making a decision about whether to sell his shares or to place them in a blind trust. I have spoken for 49 minutes; I apologise for the length of time that it has taken, but I think that the national policy statements have had a pretty fair airing. I look forward to the debate on Motions which will undoubtedly be laid before us. This has been a good process. Many noble Lords have taken part in a number of debates. I express my grateful thanks to them. Motion agreed.