Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Act

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A Private Members' Bill introduced by Peter Ainsworth (Con, East Surrey) seeking to cut out the red tape for microgeneration and promote energy production and energy efficiency measures.

Ainsworth explained the purpose of the Bill was "helping the clean energy sector to grow, and helping all of us citizens to find it easier to play our part in the green revolution".

He told members that the Bill only applied to England.

"Clause 2 defines the term “green energy” and specifies that the principal purpose of the Bill is to promote it. It includes energy efficiency because the energy that we do not use is the greenest energy of all", he said.

The Bill's definition of green energy was defined as “energy generated from renewable or small-scale low-carbon local sources”, he said, and he stipulated the inclusion of efficient small-scale district heating systems and micro combined heat and power systems within its scope.

"Clause 2 promotes the cause of alleviating fuel poverty", he added.

"Clause 3 calls for the Government’s current microgeneration strategy to be reviewed", he said.

Clause 4 requires the Government to "review permitted development orders, with the purpose of removing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, which currently impede the installation of green energy measures in non-residential and agricultural premises", he said.

Clause 5 related to permitted development rights in domestic premises, he said.

Clause 6 is "intended to encourage the Government to consider the anomaly whereby businesses and home owners who improve their property by installing green energy units may be penalised later by higher non-domestic rates or council tax valuations" he said.

Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat spokesman on Energy, supported the Bill but raised n objection regarding the definition of green jobs.

"I want us to be clear that defining “green jobs” is not uncomplicated", he said

Mike O'Brien, minister of state, department of energy and climate change, said that: " I hope that we can support the Bill and ensure that it will enable the Government to build on the work that we and others in all parts of the House have done in recent years to support the development of microgeneration technologies in the United Kingdom".

"We will seek to retain clause 2, but it will be made clear that the definition of green energy relates only to this Bill, and we may need to tighten it slightly. As we have said, green energy is a term that is often used more widely, so we do not want to give it a legal definition that restricts it to microgeneration or more narrow aspects", he said.

"We are reluctant to have a vague commitment to financial measures, so we want to be much more specific about what we will do", he said, referring to feed-in tariffs.

On clause 4 he called for improvements, regarding development orders for new projects.

He also added scepticism about potential conflicts between farmers and local communities which might arise from certain new projects being built.

He opposed clause 5. And said that clause 6, on incentives being provided by changes to council tax, were meaningless.


Progress

House of Commons

First reading: January 21 2009 [HC Bill 15]

Second reading: May 8 2009

Committee stage: June 24 2009 [HC Bill 123]

Report stage: July 3 2009

Third stage: July 3 2009

House of Lords

First reading: July 6 2009 [HL Bill 61]

Second reading: October 13 2009

Third reading: November 5 2009

Royal Assent

Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Act