§ 2.41 p.m.
§ Lord HenleyMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress is being made in converting power stations to coal.
§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Gray of Contin)My Lords, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced on 22nd May that Kilroot power station was to be converted from oil to coal burning. I understand that the Central Electricity Generating Board has recently concluded that conversion of further oil-fired power stations to coal in England and Wales would not be economic. There are no plans for such conversions in Scotland.
§ Lord HenleyMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer and especially for what he said about 1185 Kilroot power station in Northern Ireland. I wonder whether he can elucidate a little further as regards England? Would he agree that, with our vast stocks of coal, and with what we hope will be a decline in "Scargillism", a lot more could be done to encourage the use of coal for the generation of power?
§ Lord Gray of ContinYes, my Lords, I agree with my noble friend. I think that we should all like to see a trend towards coal instead of oil, but I must point out to my noble friend that the capital cost of conversion of stations to coal firing is very high indeed. For example, the estimated cost of converting two modern 660 megawatt units in the Isle of Grain station is about £675 million at March 1985 prices. So my noble friend will realise the difficulties which the CEGB is up against.
§ The Earl of LauderdaleMy Lords, do not the figures argue for pressing ahead with a British type of nuclear power?
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, my noble friend is correct. Seventeen per cent. of the supply to the grid is already from nuclear power.
§ Lord EzraMy Lords, will the noble Lord indicate whether steps have been taken to convert the smaller coal-fired stations which might be taken out of service to combined heat and power? Was that not in fact one of the objectives of the recent energy legislation?
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, the noble Lord is correct. But in the view of the CEGB, which must be the judge in such matters, it is still not economic to proceed in the way that he suggests.
§ Lord MolsonMy Lords, in apprehension of the coal strike, were not a number of power stations that had been using coal converted to oil? Is there an insuperable difficulty in reconverting them in new circumstances from oil to coal?
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, my noble friend raises an interesting point, but I cannot give him a specific answer other than to say that that must be for the judgment of the CEGB. It is, however, worth recalling that in a normal year oil-fired stations in England and Wales account for only 3 to 4 per cent. of electricity generated by the CEGB, and some oil burn is necessary to meet the demand at peak periods and to maintain a balanced output from the national grid.
§ Lord Stoddart of SwindonMy Lords, will the noble Lord tell the House what the total installed capacity of oil-fired power stations is at present, and what proportion of that capacity is used at any given period throughout the year? I hope that he will check his figures of £600 million for conversion from oil to coal. But does he agree that in any event it is far better to have the stations converted, instead of standing idle, so that they may at least partly earn their keep?
§ Lord Gray of ContinNo, my Lords, I am afraid that I cannot agree with the noble Lord on that issue. The figure that I quoted was £675 million for the 1186 conversion of two units on the Isle of Grain. I have no reason to suspect that the Department of Energy figures are anything other than accurate, but I shall have them checked. I do not agree with him; I shall try to recall the previous answers that I gave. In a normal year, oil-fired stations account for 3 to 4 per cent. of electricity generated by the CEGB. Seventeen per cent. of the supply to the grid is from nuclear power; and over 60 per cent. of the CEGB generating capacity is coal-fired. I am afraid that I cannot give him a more detailed breakdown.
§ Lord Stoddart of SwindonMy Lords, the noble Lord did not answer my question about the installed capacity of oil-fired stations.
§ Lord Gray of ContinMy Lords, I think that it is asking rather a lot to expect a Minister to answer every detailed question which springs to the fertile mind of the noble Lord at Question Time. I shall try to elicit the information, and perhaps I may drop him a note.