Energy Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point about the progress of the installation of larger-scale renewable generation, but the picture in the UK is complex. It relates partly to incentives and partly to planning permission. The record of several authorities—I shall not mention which party is in control in those areas because that would be otiose as far as this debate is concerned—for uncertainty when it comes to planning applications has been a factor in the rate of progress of installations. Another substantial factor, which I attempted to address in Committee, is the issue of connections to the grid. At the moment, there is a substantial delay to projects that already have investment agreement and, in some cases, planning agreement because they do not have a reliable time for connection to the grid and, therefore, they do not have the ability to make money from the electricity they are exporting.