Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 20
4th Report - Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies
Published 5 Jan 2023
Environmental Audit Committee Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
It is unclear whether Ministers will maintain the current position whereby grade 3b agricultural land is available for ground-mounted solar installations. We recognise that the Government must balance the needs of energy security with biodiversity protection and food production. Nevertheless, moves to limit the land available for solar installations will make it harder to achieve the Government’s stated ambition in the British Energy Security Strategy to increase solar capacity to 70GW by 2035. We recommend that the Government set out, in its response to this report, its assessment of the likely impact that reducing the classes of land available for ground mounted solar would have on its ability to achieve its own target of 70GW target by
From: Environmental Audit Committee, 4th Report - Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies (HC 109), 5 January 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 March 2023 (deadline 5 March 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's report and responds mainly by pointing to existing schemes, targets and planned consultations, while declining several recommendations, including a tax allowance for renewable generators and ringfencing Energy Profits Levy revenue for energy efficiency.
- On renewable generators' tax relief, it states it "does not accept this recomsmendation" [sic], citing support through Contracts for Difference. On the Energy Profits Levy, it has "considerable fiscal sustainability concerns" about hypothecating revenue for energy efficiency.
- On green mortgages, it agrees lenders have "an important role to play" but will publish a response only once policy is "resolved", giving no date. It intends to consult on Energy Performance Certificate and wider buildings framework reforms in 2023.
- On the North Sea, it considers the Transition Deal targets "sufficiently ambitious" and says it does "not propose reopening this deal for negotiation", though it will monitor progress closely, including whether "further steps may be necessary".
- On energy efficiency funding, it points to £6.6 billion this Parliament and £6 billion of new funding "from 2025 to 2028". It intends to launch ECO+ in spring 2023, "proposed to be worth £1 billion over three years".