§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department has made any estimate of the capital and running costs and the energy penalty of installing (a) electrostatic precipitators to meet current standards for particular emissions and (b) the Wellman-Lord flue gas desulphurisation process, on a new 2000MW coal-fired power station.
§ Mr. GoodladThe CEGB advises that, at 1983 prices, the capital cost of installing electrostatic precipitators to meet current standards for particulate emissions on a 2000MW coal-fired station is £16 million to £20 million. The running cost and energy penalty are negligible. The estimated capital cost of installing the Wellman-Lord flue gas desulphurisation process on a new station of this size would be £123 million. The estimated running cost would524W be about £30 million per annum accompanied by losses of about 4 per cent. or 76MW, in the station's output and of about 1.4 percentage points in its thermal efficiency.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department has undertaken, or is undertaking, an investigation into the relative cost-effectiveness of reducing sulphur dioxide emissions by (a) flue gas desulphurisation and (b) positive electricity conservation measures.
§ Mr. GoodladThe CEGB has examined the costs of various flue gas desulphurisation (fgd) processes. It advises that the average cost of reducing sulphur emissions by this means at existing power stations would he about £550 per tonne of sulphur abated. The amount and therefore cost of energy conservation measures necessary to achieve a similar reduction would depend upon how particular measures affected demand for electricity, the speed of take-up of these measures and the rate of economic growth during the period concerned.