§ 39. Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has for the further development of wind power following his recent visit to Orkney.
§ Mr. ParkinsonFollowing my recent visit to Orkney on 10 November to inaugurate the 3 MW, 60 metre diameter wind turbine generator, my Department will continue to press ahead with its research and development programme on wind energy which is intended to provide a basis for commercial exploitation of this renewable resource by the late 1990s.
The programme will include extensive monitoring of the experimental Orkney machine as well as support for the design and construction of a 55 metre diameter 1 MW wind turbine generator to be erected at the CEGB's Richborough site in Kent. This machine is being designed and built by James Howden & Co. of Glasgow; the project costs are shared between my Department, the CEGB and the European Community.