§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each year since 1995(a) the installed United Kingdom wind generation capacity and (b) the electricity it generated; and if he will make a statement. [132581]
720W
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 26 July 2000]The information required is as follows:
Year Contracted capacity (MW)1 Electricity Generation (GWh)2 1995 76.224 379.510 1996 97.491 482.953 1997 132.288 656.935 1998 137.748 873.047 1999 148.722 3492.597 1 The totals for contracted capacity (in Megawatts) are cumulative 2 One Gigawatt hour (GWh) = 1,000 Megawatt Hours (MWh) 3 The total for 1999 is less than that of 1998 because the contracts of wind projects supported under the First and Second Rounds of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation ceased at the end of 1998 and the compilation of further statistical data on their operation for 1999 and subsequent years has been discontinued The Government have a target of generating 10 per cent. of the UK's electricity from renewable sources by 2010, subject to the cost to consumers being acceptable. We expect both onshore and offshore wind to be needed to meet this target. The Government are taking a range of measures to encourage renewables including a proposed obligation on electricity suppliers, exemption of renewable energy from the Climate Change Levy and an expanded research and development programme. We are also considering the scope for limited additional support for more expensive technologies, including offshore wind.