HC Deb 19 July 1976 vol 915 cc1258-60
3. Mr. Lane

asked the Secretary of State for Energy by what criteria he will decide the long-term investment programmes for coal and nuclear energy.

Mr. Benn

I expect both coal and nuclear power to play an important rôle in the long-term supply of energy. The balance between the different fuels will be the subject of progressive decisions over the years. I would expect the same investment and other criteria to apply to both.

Mr. Lane

To make things quite clear, may I ask the Secretary of State to confirm that he has made no prior commitment, either at the Durham miners' gala or elsewhere, to give undue preference to coal and that the paramount criterion in these decisions must be the interest of the consumer?

Mr. Benn

I fully accept that the consumer interest should be dominant in our thinking on energy policy. At the same time, the House must appreciate that with 300 years of coal reserves available to us it would be foolish to do anything to the mining industry that made it difficult for the industry to contribute coal not only for domestic use and electricity generation but, later, for use in petrochemicals or the development of synthetic natural gas. It would be difficult to give a private assurance at the Durham miners' gala, which is attended by 100,000 people.

Dr. Bray

Would my right hon. Friend give an estimate of the date by which he expects to reach a decision on the commercial aspect of the fast breeder reactor? Does he agree that it is an important development for those who work at Dounreay? Does he accept that this is a rather different time scale of decision in that it is very much an insurance policy for the 1990s and beyond rather than something which affects the immediate energy demands of the country?

Mr. Benn

I accept much of what my hon. Friend says. The time scales in the nuclear industry vary from the immediate need for thermal reactors through to the rôle of the fast breeder and the development of fusion. The balance between the time scale and the demand for the energy that these systems might provide is one of the central questions of energy policy. I shall certainly take note of what my hon. Friend has said.