Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Bill Wiggin (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 1 May 2008 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Renewable Electricity Generation

Question: I am listening to the Government describing us as leading on offshore wind power, yet Shell is pulling out of key offshore wind farm projects in this morning's newspapers. When we look further at the Government's biomass co-firing feedstocks, we find that a fifth of those are coming from palm oil products, which are causing deforestation and loss of habitat for the orang-utan. We know that things are not being sustainably sourced, and we know that we will not even be close to meeting the EU target of 20 per cent. by 2020 if we lose wind farms and Shell's investment. I do not think that the Minister's response that it is all very disappointing is good enough. Will he please see what he can do to try to meet these targets, which the whole House would support?

Answer: The Government are responsible for many things, but the decision that Shell has taken is not one of them. Shell made it clear in its statement that the regulatory framework that the Government have set is not the reason for its decision. I said in answer to the earlier question that many people would like to know the reason because Shell has spoken previously about its commitment to investment in renewables, and this is an important test. I hope that the project will be sustained. On offshore wind, 3.3 GW already have permission. Round 2 should deliver another 7 GW. The Government want a further major expansion up to 25 GW, so we are serious about this. On biofuels, Ed Gallagher is carrying out the review. As far as the climate is concerned, there are good biofuels and bad biofuels, and we have to be able to distinguish between the two. The review will be important, but we need to encourage the right kind of biofuels. We also need to encourage the second generation of biofuels, and we are determined to do that.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 475 c428-9
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Biofuels Greater London Standards Renewable energy Seas and oceans Wind power Shell Carbon emissions
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk