§ Mr. Rostasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has decided which consortia will receive grants for the preparation of a prospectus for a combined heat and power district heating scheme following his announcement on 5 April 1984; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerOn 5 April, I announced the Government's willingness to make up to three grants, not exceeding £0.25 million each, to consortia for the preparation of a prospectus for a combined heat and power/district heating scheme. I said then that the preferred choice would be one scheme in each of Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and that the Government would be looking for substantial private sector involvement in the consortia. I received 10 proposals.
In deciding upon the consortia to receive further funding, I particularly took into account:
the extent to which the proposal covered the features requested in my earlier announcement;the commitment expressed by private sector interests to the consortia;the technical strength of consortium participants;the existence of strong local support;the likelihood of private sector funding for the eventual scheme;the contribution of the proposal to the wider application of CHP in the United Kingdom.After detailed examination of the proposals, and following consultation with my colleagues, I propose to offer grants to the following consortia:
- The Joint Venture for CHP in Belfast;
- The Industrial Group for Edinburgh CHP;
- The Leicester Consortium for CHP.