Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Recommendation 31
Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector
Published 28 Apr 2023
Paragraph 151
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Hydrogen looks set to be an important part of a decarbonised power system, both as a source of low-carbon dispatchable power to replace gas and as a source of energy storage which can take advantage of excess supply of renewables. However, given supply constraints, the Government needs to determine the sectors of the economy in which use of hydrogen will be prioritised. We recommend that the Government takes forward the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee to develop a cross-sectoral infrastructure strategy that narrows the space for future hydrogen uses and finalise the business models for hydrogen this year.
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector (HC 283), paragraph 151, 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.