Following on from last year’s DUKES report on renewable energy in 2014, it was great news yesterday that the trend in increases in the proportion of renewable energy within our energy sector is continuing.

As the June 2016 edition of Energy Trends highlights, in 2015 total renewable energy in the UK increased by 20 per cent on the previous year. Electricity generation from plant biomass increased by 42 per cent mainly due to a third conversion at Drax, and solar photovoltaic generation increased by a massive 87 per cent due to an increase in deployment capacity. Total wind generation increased by 26 per cent, mostly due to an increase in capacity, particularly for offshore wind.

I am pleased that we are continuing to demonstrate our commitment to decarbonising our energy sector through the increased deployment of renewables, working to keep the lights on whilst keeping costs down for taxpayers.