Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the extent to which Drax biomass power station has complied with
sustainability requirements; and whether they are reviewing
subsidies to it.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy
Security and Net Zero () (Con)
My Lords, this is a matter for Ofgem. The regulator is the
administrator for monitoring compliance with the sustainability
criteria within the renewables obligation scheme. It has opened
an investigation into whether Drax Power Ltd is in breach of its
annual profiling reporting requirements related to the renewables
obligations scheme.
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for that reply. It is estimated that we will
have given Drax some £11 billion in subsidies over the different
renewable energy schemes. Is the Minister concerned that Drax’s
claim to be using sustainably sourced wood from Canadian forests
currently lacks any detailed full-cycle carbon accounting and the
audit trail that we have the right to expect for that level of
subsidy? Why did Ofgem commission the technical consultancy Black
& Veatch to advise on this even though the company is already
working for Drax? Finally, does the Minister accept that, in
order to get to the truth, independent advisers and scientists
should go to Canada to check that 70% of the wood biomass being
imported is actually sustainable offcuts, as our rule requires,
and not from virgin forests?
(Con)
A couple of points for the noble Baroness. First, the renewables
obligation legislation was originally introduced by the last
Labour Government. Secondly, Ofgem is investigating these
matters. The noble Baroness is jumping to a lot of conclusions
there. If it is proved that Drax is not in compliance, of course
some of the value of the certificates that it has received will
be withdrawn.
(CB)
Speaking of proof, has the Minister had a chance to view the
devastating “Panorama” on Drax? Drax’s claims have been fatally
undermined. Ancient forests have been cut down and
indiscriminately turned into pellets, transported 12,000 miles by
ship and incinerated in Yorkshire, emitting more CO2 than coal
did before and at gigantic cost to the taxpayer. This is not the
route to net zero.
(Con)
The noble Lord should be careful of jumping to conclusions. I
have not seen the programme, but my officials have. They have
engaged extensively with forestry experts and Canadian officials
following the programme, and the officials’ conclusion is that
the “Panorama” programme provided an inaccurate representation of
practices by the forestry and biomass sector on the ground.
(Con)
My Lords, looking at renewables more broadly, does my noble
friend have a view on the efficacy and morality of taking
electricity that has been generated offshore in the Yorkshire and
Humber region and transporting it all the way down to the West
Midlands, when we could actually use that electricity locally,
particularly to power up electric cars, for which there are so
few charging points in rural areas?
(Con)
I have to say that I am really not sure what the noble Baroness
is talking about. There is a national grid. Electricity is
transported from all parts of the country to other parts, as
demand varies. That is the whole principle of a grid.
of Hardington Mandeville
(LD)
The emissions that occur as a result of Drax burning mature trees
are not counted as CO2 emissions; only emissions from
transporting trees from forests to furnaces count. When are the
Government going to wake up to this ridiculous accounting fraud
and stop giving Drax green subsidies?
(Con)
Again, the noble Baroness is jumping to conclusions before the
investigation has proceeded. Based on the evidence reviewed to
date, Ofgem has not established any non-compliance with the
scheme. But the investigation is continuing and I would caution
noble Lords to wait for the outcome from the independent
regulator.
(Lab)
My Lords, transporting this woodchip from a forest somewhere in
North America by truck or train, loading it on to a container
ship, taking it to the Mersey, taking it across the Pennines in
another train and then discharging it into Drax—how can that
possibly be green?
(Con)
It is because the sustainability criteria say that the biomass
has to come from sustainable sources. Most of it is by-product
from normal sustainable commercial forests.
(CB)
My Lords, a few years ago when this Question came up in the
House, the noble Lord assured the noble Earl, , that if Ofgem found Drax
not to be meeting its sustainability criteria, the subsidies
would be immediately removed. Since then, we have had the
“Panorama” review and, while I accept the noble Lord’s point that
the jury is still out, I would like to know whether he is still
prepared to make the same commitment to the House today.
(Con)
Yes.
(GP)
My Lords, you have to admit that the “Panorama” programme had
some interesting facts. In fact, a lot of that information comes
from Canadian environmentalists who are on the spot and see the
ancient forests being destroyed for those wood pellets. So why on
earth does the Minister still persist in saying that we are
jumping to conclusions when he is just burying his head in the
sand?
(Con)
As somebody famous once remarked, recollection of facts may vary.
Forgive me if I do not necessarily take as absolute fact the
statements of some Canadian environmentalists. Officials have
looked into it. Ofgem is investigating whether the biomass is
sustainable or not. Let us wait for the outcome of that
investigation.
(Con)
My Lords, my noble friend said in his original Answer that it was
matter for the regulator. Are the Government wholly satisfied
with the way regulation is working at the moment, with questions
around the regulator Ofgem? Who regulates the regulators?
(Con)
The noble Lord was probably in the other place when the
regulations and laws for Ofgem were passed. It is an independent
regulator; that is the whole principle of it. Until I see any
evidence that it is not carrying out its job satisfactorily, I
will continue to have confidence in it.
(Lab)
My Lords, when Ofgem opened its investigation into Drax’s biomass
sustainability reporting a month ago, it made clear it would act
if it found breaches of the rules—the right approach, surely, to
a single case. However, what assessment have the Government made
of wider compliance with reporting requirements and what steps
are they taking to improve monitoring, particularly with regard
to the origin of fuel sources?
(Con)
I refer the noble Baroness to the answers I have given to
previous questions. There are other biomass operations that
fulfil the sustainability criteria. If any evidence is produced
and if the noble Baroness has any evidence, I would be delighted
to pass it on, but until then we should trust what they say.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, in answer to the excellent question from the noble
Lord, , the Minister said that
officials had looked into this and that Ofgem was satisfied. But,
as far as this House is concerned, it is the Minister who is
responsible. What has he personally done to look into this since
the programme aired so that he could have answered the Question
from the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, properly?
(Con)
My Lords, I have answered the Question properly. Ofgem is an
independent regulator and takes these matters extremely
seriously. I have spoken to the chief executive of Ofgem about it
and I have spoken to officials who have investigated it, so I
feel that I have discharged my duties on this one.
(CB)
My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. The
Minister was very dismissive to the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh
of Pickering, on the issues around the national grid and the use
of sustainable energy. We had long debates about this, and about
community energy, in the Energy Bill. Does he not accept that
there is a possibility, with some of the large onshore wind
turbines we now have, that we could almost avoid grid connection
and go to direct supply for developments that are important?
(Con)
That was not the question I was asked, but let me tackle the
question from the noble Baroness. Of course, it is perfectly
within anybody’s rights to set up a private wire supply and their
own community generation if they wish, but I think the noble
Baroness will find that the vast majority of those schemes also
want to be connected to the national grid for cases where it does
not work.
