Lord Whitehead (Lab)

My noble friend makes an important point about the amount of work we still have to do and the extent to which we have to integrate what we are doing into a whole low-carbon system that works. For example, one consequence of the previous Administration’s grievous neglect of grid development and of methods of supporting grid development is that, if we can get grid queues shorter and develop the grid itself and use it more efficiently, a lot of the constraints in the system that we are seeing at the moment will fade away. The system will be used far more efficiently with a greater amount of electricity flowing around it, making much more efficient use of what we have already. I agree that there are some unprecedented demands coming our way, particularly as far as data centres are concerned, and we need to look at imaginative ways in which we can not only make sure that we are ready for that demand, but start to look at how those data centres can fuel their own requirements, for example, by developing data centres in conjunction with heat sources so that their heat requirements can be dealt with on site. Ways in which local grid systems, outside constraints, can feed into data centre development need to be looked at in the context of a whole system analysis of how an efficient energy system is going to work for the future. We recognise that getting a fabulous result as far as offshore wind is concerned is only part of the issue. It is a much wider issue than that, and one we have got to get right in terms of what we know will be a substantial demand for electricity in the years ahead.