Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Conclusion 28
Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector
Published 28 Apr 2023
Paragraph 136
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Decarbonisation of the power sector All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage has yet to be commercially deployed in the UK. We have concerns about whether biomass feedstocks can be scaled up sustainably to meet domestic and global demand and whether BECCS facilities will provide value for money. To ensure sufficient oversight of sustainability standards, the UK needs to develop domestic supplies of feedstocks. We do not oppose the use of BECCS for power in principle, but future taxpayer support for BECCS must be contingent on: a) robust, transparent evidence that the full lifecycle emissions from BECCS facilities in the UK are carbon neutral within a timeframe compatible with our climate targets; and, b) detailed assessment that BECCS facilities provide value for money.
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector (HC 283), paragraph 136, 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.