13:29 Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Leigh. I am very pleased to have secured this debate, because it provides an opportunity to focus on the East Anglia offshore renewable energy industry at a particularly important time in its fledgling life. Much work has already been carried out, both by the Government and industry, and exciting times lie ahead, if the right policy and investment decisions are made and seen through.

Much good work has already been done and the foundations have been laid. The original foundation stone, which has been there since time immemorial, is the North sea, one of this island’s most vital assets. It is a great resource, out of which the fishing industry in Lowestoft and other ports was created, only to be reduced to a shadow of its former self by the common fisheries policy. The North sea also gave us the oil and gas industry, which has many features that are transferrable to the renewable energy sector—skills, a supply chain of approximately 500 businesses employing more than 10,000 people across Suffolk and Norfolk, and the best health and safety regime in the world. Now the North sea offers another dividend, in the form of wind in the immediate future and, in due course and with the right nurturing, wave and tidal power.

On the wave and tidal sector, the proposed five renewables obligation certificates per megawatt-hour will help the UK maintain its lead over the other competing nations in this emerging sector, and that can be reinforced if support is forthcoming from the green investment bank. It is also important that the UK takes a lead role in developing transparent European market rules that in due course will allow us to export surplus renewable energy to Europe and vice versa.

The technology and innovation centre for renewable energy needs to be up and running as soon as possible, and I hope that organisations such as OrbisEnergy and CEFAS in my constituency will play an important role in that project. The private sector and the East of England Energy Group, through its skills for energy programme, also have a key role to play, and it is important that national and local government work with them.

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13:43 The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Leigh. I am delighted to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) on securing the debate. He has shown a long-term interest in the scope for East Anglia to become a leader in renewable technologies and, within the Department of Energy and Climate Change, we are very grateful indeed for his constant support. I am delighted that he is supported today by some of my hon. Friends who represent Suffolk constituencies. They share his ambitions for East Anglia and how it can take advantage of the opportunities that are clearly there.

Renewable energy, and offshore renewables in particular, are set to be a major part of our future energy supply. Some technologies, such as onshore and offshore wind, are already established and some, such as wave and tidal, are still emerging, which is why we have given the higher level of ROC support to them. It is absolutely clear that offshore wind will play an important part in the UK’s energy future. It is a low-carbon energy source. It is also a domestic energy source, which means that it will play a role in securing our long-term energy security.

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