The Electricity System Operator’s (ESO) report: ‘Beyond 2030: a national blueprint for a decarbonised electricity system’ includes proposals to install new circuits to reinforce the network between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain, helping to connect the ScotWind projects to the Great Britain electricity grid and transmit the electricity on to consumers. The total capacity of the additional links between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain is 6.8GW. More detail is included in the ESO’s report.

The Electricity System Operator (ESO) published their report ‘Beyond 2030: a national blueprint for a decarbonised electricity system’ this week. Ministers have made no such estimate since its publication.

The report notes that Scotland has nearly 15 GW of operational renewable capacity and the ScotWind offshore wind leasing round awarded a total capacity of approximately 28GW. In 2022, peak winter demand in Scotland was around 5 GW. The Electricity System Operator (ESO) has assumed a significant increase in demand of 10 GW by 2035. However, there will remain a surplus of generation in Scotland which will need to be transmitted to centres of demand across Great Britain. More detail is included in the ESO’s report.

https://www.nationalgrideso.com/document/304756/download

The transitional centralised strategic network plan (tCSNP) will connect offshore wind projects from the ScotWind seabed leasing round. Once operational, projects will pay rent to the Crown Estate Scotland which pays its profits to Scottish Government. The amount of revenue from rent will depend upon the amount of electricity generated.

Independent analysis commissioned by the Electricity System Operator suggests that, by 2035, recommendations in the CSNP report could add up to £5.22 billion to the Scottish economy and support an average of 6,000 jobs each year.

The decommissioning of all offshore wind turbines, including blades, is a legal obligation for the owners and their plans must be approved by the Secretary of State. Full removal of all offshore renewable energy installations is the default position and installations should be designed and constructed to facilitate that.

For onshore wind turbines and blades, when a local planning authority grants planning permission this will typically include conditions for decommissioning, such as returning a site to its previous state.

In both cases, all waste should be disposed of in accordance with the waste hierarchy.

Decisions regarding port infrastructure enhancement primarily lie with port operators, who will determine what is needed on a commercial and operational basis In terms of guidance, the Department for Transport publishes three core documents to support the ports sector: the Port Marine Safety Code, last updated in 2016 (with an update due in early 2024), the Guide to Good Practice on Port Marine Operations, last updated in 2018 (with an update due in mid-2024), and the Ports Good Governance Guide, last published in 2018. None of these documents are statutory. It should also be noted that port policy is devolved.

Freeports benefit from a comprehensive package of government funding and incentives, which can be strategically used in those areas, to upgrade local infrastructure, to foster economic growth and competitiveness, including for port operators involved in a Freeport. Decisions on how or what to upgrade in terms of individual Freeports, will be taken by the Freeport and relevant partners.

Armed policing is used to protect only the most critical infrastructure. I am unable to comment on specific security measures at specific sites. The security measures at critical energy sites are implemented as a result of expert advice on the most effective measures that are proportionate to the threat and the type of infrastructure to be protected.

The Government is engaging with the Scottish Government on the development and implementation of all aspects of CCUS, including the re-purposing of oil and gas infrastructure. The Government’s proposed update to Change of Use Relief through the Energy Bill seeks to remove potential barriers to re-purposing, and is in large part a direct consequence of the positive engagement held with the Acorn CCUS project in Scotland.

The value of electricity can be estimated using recent wholesale electricity prices, which are published regularly on Ofgem’s website. It is worth noting that wholesale electricity prices have been volatile over recent years and vary by season. Wholesale electricity prices for 2030 would be more challenging to estimate accurately, though current prices could be used as a proxy. Alternatively, retail prices could be used to derive the retail value of electricity. These are published by the Government and can be found in table 4 on this link.

The value of electricity can be estimated using recent wholesale electricity prices, which are published regularly on Ofgem’s website. It is worth noting that wholesale electricity prices have been volatile over recent years and vary by season. Wholesale electricity prices for 2030 would be more challenging to estimate accurately, though current prices could be used as a proxy. Alternatively, retail prices could be used to derive the retail value of electricity. These are published by the Government and can be found in table 4 on this link.

Financial support for network infrastructure projects, including the Peterhead and Torness projects, is regulated by Ofgem as the independent energy regulator through the ‘RIIO’ price controls. While the government engages with Ofgem and network operators regularly, decisions on network investment are a matter for Ofgem. The Government welcomes strategic transmission network projects and their acceleration to support the 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework.

As set out in the National Grid ESO Future Energy Scenario publication, approximately 35TWh of electricity was expected to flow from Scotland to the rest of Great Britain in 2021, which compares to an expectation of 124TWh in 2030.

The Government welcomes strategic network projects such as the Torness and Peterhead links, and their acceleration to support 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. National Grid ESO estimates that these links will facilitate the transmission of an additional 5 TWh of energy from North to South in their first year.

Following a commitment in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government is also looking to consult on community benefit options for communities hosting transmission network infrastructure.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to determine the amount of funding allocated for network infrastructure projects, including the Torness and Peterhead projects. This includes regulating the cost of their build, ownership, operation and maintenance. The Government welcomes such strategic network projects and their acceleration to support the 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. National Grid ESO estimates that these links will facilitate the transmission of an additional 5 TWh of energy from north to south in their first year.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to determine the amount of funding allocated for network infrastructure projects, including the Torness and Peterhead projects. This includes regulating the cost of their build, ownership, operation and maintenance. The Government welcomes such strategic network projects and their acceleration to support the 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. National Grid ESO estimates that these links will facilitate the transmission of an additional 5 TWh of energy from north to south in their first year.

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, uses the price control process to determine the amount of funding allocated for network infrastructure projects, including the Torness and Peterhead projects. This includes regulating the cost of their build, ownership, operation and maintenance. The Government welcomes such strategic network projects and their acceleration to support the 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. National Grid ESO estimates that these links will facilitate the transmission of an additional 5 TWh of energy from north to south in their first year.

The 2021 national infrastructure and construction pipeline set out nearly £650 billion of planned and projected public and private investment in infrastructure over the next 10 years. Last year’s Budget and spending review set out how we will deliver on commitments in the national infrastructure strategy, and go further in providing more investment to every part of the UK.

The Government are committed to ensuring that the whole of the United Kingdom benefits from our investment in renewables and our transition to net zero and the growth that that affords us, and I am happy to look into the matter that the hon. Gentleman raised.

The Government announced on the 30 August 2019 £30m worth of funding for upgrades to port infrastructure, road and rail links and to build resilience within local government, which included the £10m Ports Infrastructure and Connectivity and Resilience Fund. This funding was related to English ports and Local Resilience Forums only.

As with all funding of this nature the Devolved Administrations received consequential allocations based on the Barnett formula directly related to the amount allocated to this port infrastructure funding package. The amount allocated to Scotland was £2.9m.

My Department received 28 Ports Infrastructure and Connectivity and Resilience Fund applications. They were from Bristol, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Harwich, Heysham, Hull, Immingham, Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Lancaster, Liverpool, London Gateway, Newhaven, Pembroke Dock, Plymouth, Poole, Port of London, Portland, Portsmouth, Sheerness, Shoreham, Southampton, Teesport, Thames Oilport, Thamesport, Tilbury, and Tyne.

So far a total of £265,458.50 in grants has been paid to the successful applicants who have completed their projects and provided fully verified expenditure documentation for these projects. We expect that this amount will increase rapidly over the next month or so as my Department receives, and is able to verify, the relevant documentation from the remaining successful applicants.