Miatta Fahnbulleh MP: speeches

Speeches

• 26 Jun 2025 · Floating Solar Panels · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. and gallant Gentleman for that; his nudge has been taken, and I will pass that on to the Minister for Energy. As a Department, we are trying to engage extensively with industry on how we will take forward the complex and difficult challenges as we try to deliver our clean power mission. If companies and organisations can lend their insights and knowledge to help us develop better policy, we are always in the market for that, so I will pass on the nudge. We are finishing the final touches to the solar road map, and it is due to be published very soon. While I will not disclose the detail of it, I assure hon. Members that the question of floating solar will be addressed within it. We recognise that floating solar is an exciting area, and we think it has huge potential for deployment in the UK. We are seeing the technology being deployed more broadly in other countries, and we want to be part of that. The hon. and gallant Gentleman has talked about the benefits for the grid, water quality, consumers of electricity and, ultimately, climate change. There is much to like about floating solar. The challenge for us is to work with industry to ensure that we can unlock its potential. That means reducing the cost, ensuring that it is cost-effective, and ensuring that we can deploy the technology. The one commitment I will make on behalf of the Government is that we will always engage with industry as we do this work. We want the innovation, insight and experience of the brightest and the best as we try to build up our clean power sector, so we will work with industry to unlock the huge potential that we believe is there. Question put and agreed to .

• 26 Jun 2025 · Floating Solar Panels · Hansard source

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  We will always keep this area under review. We recognise the potential of the technology, and we will continue to work with industry to bring down costs. As the hon. Member says, there are reservoirs and waterways where there are potential problems, but there is also the potential for it to be painless. If we can help to unlock the technology, there will absolutely be appetite from the Government for this. We are trying to invest in research and development in this area, and we are putting in Government support and investment to unlock that. Finally, the hon. and gallant Gentleman mentioned the solar taskforce. We are working at pace to deliver the taskforce’s recommendations. The taskforce has effectively brought together industry and Government to discuss the actions needed to scale up solar deployment, in line with our 2030 clean power mission. It has identified the need for a road map to address the specific barriers to floating solar and other innovative technologies, and a sub-group has been convened to focus on this specific topic.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Heat Batteries: Decarbonising Homes · Hansard source

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  I will go on to outline the steps that we are taking, because we recognise that the plan is critical to dealing with the challenges across the country. I want to emphasise why we got here; my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall made that point very well. Let us remember that Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine exposed our country to our egregious over-reliance on international gas markets. When prices rocketed, the British people suffered. That is why we have made our strategy to reduce reliance on gas a central plank of this Government, and we can do that in two ways. First, we want to reduce reliance on gas within the electricity system. One of the Prime Minister’s key missions is to make Britain a clean energy superpower. We have taken immediate action by lifting the ban on onshore wind within our first 72 hours in government, setting up the new mission control at the heart of Government, and setting up Great British Energy—a publicly owned company that will invest in clean home-grown energy. Secondly, we want to reduce our reliance on natural gas for directly heating our homes, which is why this debate is so important. Over 80% of UK homes currently use gas, which is one of the highest proportions in the world. Cleaner heating is therefore a huge part of Britain’s path to energy independence. The good news is that if we get this right—there is a lot we need to do to get it right—it is also a route for us to deliver cheaper energy for people’s homes. Although other technologies such as heat batteries might have a role to play—I will say more about that technology specifically in a second—we already know that heat pumps can be an effective and affordable way of moving forward. We know that heat pumps are three times more efficient than traditional gas boilers, and because they run on electricity, people can achieve lower bills by integrating them with smart tariffs. To the point made by the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke), we understand that we need to do more work to make sure that it is cost-effective for people who make the choice to have clean heat. Thinking about the balance between gas prices and electricity prices is a key part of how we try to do that. Heat pump uptake is increasing. Figures for the boiler upgrade scheme show that the number of applications and redemptions in October 2024 was the highest of any month since the scheme began. Critically for hon. Members who raised key questions about rural communities and homes that are off grid, we think that heat pumps are a viable option in rural communities. Actually, 54% of BUS grants went to homes in rural communities, so consumers agree with us. We now need to make it as easy and viable as possible for people to go on this journey. That is why we are announcing and putting in place a raft of measures to help us to accelerate the pace of our warm homes plan. We have removed the outdated 1-metre rule, giving households more flexibility to install heat pumps. We are almost doubling the boiler upgrade scheme budget for next year to £295 million. We are looking at further ways in which we can make the up-front cost of installing a heat pump much cheaper, drawing on some of the real innovation in the market, such as Kensa, which my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall mentioned. We are supporting the supply chain by introducing a reformed clean heat market mechanism on 1 April this year. We are investing more than £5 million in Ideal Heating as the first award from our heat pump investment accelerator competition, and we are doing the critical job of training installers through our heat training grant. Let me come to heat batteries. We recognise that heat pumps will be the solution for many households and we need to make sure that they are as easy and affordable as possible for those households to install, but we also recognise that for some households they will not be the right solution. We also know that the landscape is changing massively, with innovation and new technology in train. That is why I can confirm that the Government are keeping several alternative electric heating technologies under close review as the supporting evidence develops. For us, this is about taking a technology-agnostic view on the market, pairing the most suitable technology with the home. We recognise that heat batteries are a promising alternative electric heating technology. That is why we have launched the homes for net zero project, which is aiming to monitor the performance of up to 50 heat batteries in existing homes. We are expecting the results of that later this year. The key thing for us as we make the decision is whether it is a good deal for consumers. Is it efficient, is it cost-effective, and does it deliver the right outcomes—the outcomes that we need to see in people’s homes? As we build that evidence base and we build our confidence that it is the right proposition for consumers, we will look to review the policy framework, including subsidies, as we move forward. Let me come to the warm homes plan. The Government are committed to being bold and ambitious to deliver the progress that we know is so badly needed on this agenda. When we were elected, we were clear that we needed to get straight back to work with the warm homes plan. In September, we announced plans that would lift more than 1 million households out of fuel poverty, by consulting on the minimum energy efficiency standards for all rented homes. We also announced new schemes to help, in particular, low-income households—homeowners and private renters. This is through our warm homes local grant and our warm homes social housing fund, which closed for applications last November. We have confirmed £1 billion from the national wealth fund, Barclays UK corporate bank and Lloyds Banking Group to support housing associations to provide warmer, more energy-efficient homes. In November, we went further. Alongside the policies that I have talked about, we confirmed initial funding for our warm homes plan, which means that next year up to 300,000 homes will benefit from upgrades, backed by £3.2 billion of investment. In December, we worked with housing colleagues to launch a major consultation on energy performance certificate reforms, which aims to deliver fundamental improvements so that the system better supports both consumers and our wider ambitions. Let me conclude by saying that this Government understand the urgency of the situation, so we are moving at pace. That means that we are open-minded and collaborative. We are willing to work with anyone who will help us to drive the transition at the pace and scale that we need. I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall can see that that is absolutely at the heart of the approach that we are taking. I look forward to working with her, with industry colleagues and with other Members across the House to think about the innovation and the steps that we need to take to make progress on this agenda, so that in the end we do the thing that we were elected to do, which is to ensure that we are delivering on the energy promise that we committed— Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10( 6 )).