Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation 12

Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector Published 28 Apr 2023 Paragraph 61 Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Recommendation (the committee's words)
In response to this report, the Government should set out how it is monitoring progress against its ambition to deploy 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government should also set out how it will be responding to the recommendations of the UK Offshore Wind Champion. Furthermore, local communities which host critical national infrastructure must see tangible benefits from doing so, and connections between offshore wind farms and transmission networks need to be better co-ordinated to minimise disruption for local communities. We ask the Government to set out how it will ensure appropriate oversight of Crown Estate decision-making in respect of social value and impact for local communities.

From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector (HC 283), paragraph 61, 28 April 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 14 July 2023 (deadline 28 June 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 to each recommendation, planning annual reporting on power sector decarbonisation while setting out where it will not adopt specific proposals.

  • On the call for a long-term delivery plan, the government "plans to report on its delivery, and overall plan to deliver the commitment, on an annual basis", and is strengthening its portfolio management approach.
  • On a UK-wide onshore wind target, it states that setting one "would potentially undermine the flexibility needed" across the UK.
  • On biomass, it has "no plans to remove support prior to 2027" for stations already supported, saying they "have a statutory right to their existing support".
  • On Ofgem's duties, it is "content to amend" Ofgem's existing duty on greenhouse gases to refer specifically to the net zero targets in the Climate Change Act 2008.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error