The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) is already growing the biomethane market by supporting grid injected biomethane. All feedstocks, including grass, must meet the relevant sustainability criteria and be verified for eligibility by the scheme administrator, Ofgem.

The Government will consult on a future framework for biomethane to follow the GGSS. Following a Call for Evidence, my department is assessing the feasibility of producing biomethane from a variety of feedstocks, including grass, and is aware of this report. A key focus will be the use of sustainable feedstocks, which can deliver the required carbon savings to help meet Net Zero.

Trawsfynydd has not been ruled out as a potential site for new nuclear and is one of a number of potential sites that could host new civil nuclear projects, subject to National planning policy, regulatory approvals and technical assessments. Decisions on the projects and technologies to be deployed at sites will be made in due course and Great British Nuclear continues to work with Government to support access to potential sites for new nuclear projects to achieve its long-term nuclear programme ambitions.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) recently consulted on Operational reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects consenting process. As part of their response DLUHC has introduced secondary legislation and new guidance that provide greater clarity for applicants on whom to consult and when. This came into force on 8 March. These reforms will ensure the system should incentivise early, meaningful engagement between parties as applications for projects are developed.

The established consultation procedures with Interested Parties that are undertaken during the development consent Examination by the Planning Inspectorate, or by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero following receipt of the Examination report will continue to be delivered. On 15 May, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State made a Written Ministerial Statement reinforcing the importance of applicants following the expectations on siting solar developments set out in the Renewable Energy National Policy Statement. Applications will not be consented if they have not met the requirements, and that includes community engagement as required by the Planning Act. Planning Inspectorate guidance on the pre-application stage was updated on 30 April this year and can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/planning-act-2008-pre-application-stage-for-nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects (also attached).

There are currently no universities in England that have small nuclear fission reactors that are being used to develop or apply radiotherapy medical treatment.

It is critical that the UK continues to maintain access to the nuclear medicines it needs. In the 2024 Civil Nuclear Roadmap, the government committed to considering a research reactor and an accelerator in the next Spending Review to address the UK’s supply needs.

No decisions have yet been taken by the government to select one or more technology options.

The Government is immensely proud of its record on climate change. The Carbon Budget Delivery Plan remains Government policy and sets out over 300 policies and proposals that the Government has in place to reach its ambitious carbon budgets.

The judgment contains no criticism of these detailed plans nor the policies themselves, which will keep the UK on track to meet net zero by 2050.

Officials are now considering the best approach to comply with the court order and the Government will publish a new report within 12 months.

The Government is aware of cable ploughing as a technique for installing some types of electricity cabling lines and is aware of the Welsh Government’s work into the merits of cable ploughing. The Government looks forward to engaging with the Welsh Government on the outcomes of that work.

Industry leads on innovation in the technologies and design of the infrastructure developed and delivered to meet our net zero targets. The Government does not currently plan to directly commission any new work.

Undergrounding is usually by open trenching with costs varying between 5-10 times those of overhead lines. These costs are from the Institution of Engineering and Technology Study, 2012. Cable ploughing is a newer method of undergrounding some types of electricity cables. The Government has not made a formal assessment of those costs. The Government regularly engages with industry to understand new opportunities and innovations.

Following the ‘polluter pays’ principle, industry is responsible for undertaking and funding the decommissioning and removal of (1) offshore oil and gas platforms and connections and (2) offshore wind turbines and connections.

The Petroleum Act 1998 and Energy Act 2004 provide a statutory regime to ensure industry fulfil these responsibilities.

In line with our net zero target, the Government is committed to phasing out unabated coal-fired power generation by 1st October 2024, earlier than the original 2025 target. The remaining coal fired power station in Great Britain is scheduled to close before this date.

This will mean that we will have reduced coal’s share of our electricity supply from around a third, to zero in the space of only ten years.

The Government’s STEP Programme, the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, will design, develop, and build by the 2040s a prototype fusion power plant capable of delivering energy to the UK grid. The Government has already committed over £240 million towards the first phase of STEP which will develop a concept design for the prototype plant. Hosted in West Burton, Nottinghamshire, STEP will play an important role in demonstrating the commercial viability of fusion energy and galvanise the UK fusion sector. Fusion Energy is anticipated to play a significant role in the UK’s energy production from the 2050’s and beyond.

Removing the insulation requirements from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will reduce barriers to scheme participation and increase the number of property owners moving from polluting fossil fuel heating systems to low carbon heating systems.

Whilst we are empowering consumers to decide what is right for them, it remains government guidance that properties should be well insulated to save money on bills.

In addition, we will continue to mandate that installers on the scheme are MCS certified to ensure systems are appropriately designed and sized for the property and customers are provided with advice on bills.

The global renewables sector is growing at unprecedented rate putting extreme pressure on supply chains across the world. HM Government has chosen to invest in developing and maintaining a supply chain to support British renewables growth.

This includes over £1 billion of funding through the Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support investments in manufacturing capabilities for key clean energy sectors.

In addition, Government has recently announced the introduction of Sustainable Industry Rewards through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme as well as the ‘primary list’ projects for the £160m Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme.

The Celtic Freeport consortium, which includes Neath Port Talbot County Council, is currently preparing a business case and establishing robust governance arrangements, alongside the necessary corporate and legal structures, to allow for the formal designation of the Freeport by the Welsh and UK Governments in 2024. We are not aware of any planning applications for offshore wind from Celtic Freeport.

The Department recently consulted on a proposed policy for siting new nuclear power stations after 2025, which set out a criteria based approach. While EN-7 will be the primary basis for development consent decisions on nuclear power stations after 2025, we recognise that the sites listed in EN-6 are likely to retain many inherent advantages. EN-6 will not be withdrawn, and we expect it to remain an important and relevant consideration in any planning decision for projects at any of the sites listed in EN-6.

The Government response to the consultation on amendments to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme sets out the responses received by industry stakeholders, including evidence to support the removal of the legal requirement to have no outstanding recommendations for cavity and loft insulation which was determined a barrier to access the scheme.

Energy prices have fallen significantly since winter 2022-23, and the Quarter 2 2024 price cap of £1,690 has fallen by nearly 60% since the Quarter 1 2023 price cap peak. Despite this, the Government has committed to supporting households in 2024-25, with a further cut to National Insurance contributions down to 8%, an increase to benefits of 6.7%, and the largest increase to the National Living Wage.

The Warm Home Discount continues to provide a £150 rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025-26.

The Government has made no such assessment.

The Government runs a significant range of research and innovation programmes to support the transition of the energy system. This includes through UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s agency investing in science and research and interested parties such as Anglia Ruskin University are welcome to apply for these as opportunities arise. More information can be found on UKRI’s online Funding Finder Tool, where all funding opportunities are published (https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/).

In addition, recent investments are set out in the Government’s UK Net Zero Research and Innovation Delivery Plan 2022-2025.

Planning policy and associated guidance set out that the effective use of land should be prioritised by directing large scale solar projects to locate on previously developed and non-greenfield land.

If a developer proposes to use any land falling under Natural England’s ‘best and most versatile agricultural land’, they are required to justify using such land and design their projects to avoid, mitigate and where necessary, compensate for any impacts.

The planning system also sets out how decision-makers should consider the impact of cumulative impacts, for example where a number of solar projects are deployed in close proximity.

Further detail can be found in the National Policy Statement (EN-3), National Planning Policy Framework, and associated planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy.