§ 7. Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many landfill gas projects are in operation in the United Kingdom and other EC member states.
§ Mr. MoynihanThere are 34 landfill gas projects currently in operation in the United Kingdom. The latest approximate figure that I have for other EC member states indicates a total of 150 projects.
§ Mr. TredinnickI am grateful to my hon. Friend, who will be aware of the great interest in my constituency in all projects that support the environment. Can he give us some idea of the savings that can be made in conventional energy by the use of landfill gas projects and can he project what savings he thinks we will have made by the turn of the century?
§ Mr. MoynihanThe existing 34 schemes save some 160,000 tonnes of coal equivalent a year. In response to my hon. Friend's second point, as well as the existing schemes, nine others are under construction and 25 are proposed. When all 68 schemes are in operation, the energy saving will be equivalent to about 500,000 tonnes of coal equivalent per annum.