2 July 2020

As a long-time advocate of clean, renewable energy (and particular Offshore Wind Energy), it is great to see the UK rapidly switching to such sources of energy production.

BUT, we need:

  • A proper framework for connecting offshore energy infrastructure to the National Grid.
  • To stop littering East Anglia with massive substations, cable corridors and pylons that damage rural and coastal environments, and negatively impact on local communities, tourism and businesses.
  • To ensure that the communities that host this national infrastructure receive some form of community compensation.

That’s why I have been leading the charge in Norfolk and in Westminster – calling for a proper strategic Plan to deliver this vital infrastructure.

Following Minister Kwarteng’s commitment in our meeting last month to commission OFGEM to carry out a full feasibility Review into the different options for delivering this vital national infrastructure (including the possibility of an ORM), I was delighted to participate in a Zoom meeting yesterday with OFGEM and two of my fellow Norfolk MPs – Duncan Baker and Jerome Mayhew.

It was refreshing to hear OFGEM’s support for exploring how a proper strategic Plan might be created in what was a very promising conversation. Together, we all reaffirmed our desire to work with one another to make sure we can achieve the Government’s Environmental targets in a swift manner that respects the people and habitats of East Anglia.

Later this month, my fellow MPs and I will attend a roundtable with Minister Kwarteng, BEIS officials, National Grid, OFGEM and developers in the sector to discuss the campaign in even greater depth.

Despite yesterday’s announcement on Norfolk Vanguard, please be assured that I am firmly committed to pursuing this going forward, and hope to provide another update in the not too distant future.

To learn more about my historic work in this area, and the current campaign, please visit my website here.