§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of power was produced by(a) coal, (b) oil and (c) nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available; how many (i) coal, (ii) oil and (iii) nuclear power plants operate in the UK; and what the lifespan is of each. [103925]
§ Mr. WilsonThe available information on electricity supplied from particular types of plant is as follows and relates to 2002.
Percentage of electricity supplied Number of power plants1 Coal 32 20 Oil 1 29 Nuclear 22 14 1 Only covers stations of more than 1MW capacity. Mixed fired coal/oil and coal/gas fired stations have been included under coal and similarly mixed oil/gas fired stations are counted under oil. Oil plants include single cycle gas fired stations as well as diesel and kerosene fired stations. Data are as at end May 2002. Source:
Energy Trends Table 5.1 and Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2002, Table 5.10. Generation data for 2002 are provisional.
Information on the lifespan of coal and oil plants is not available as it is a technical and commercial matter for the individual companies concerned. Nuclear plants operate under licences and the latest published company information on expected station closure dates is as shown below.
Power station Expected date of closure British Energy Dungeness B 2008 Hunterston 2011 HinkleyB 2011 Heysham 1 2014 Hartlepool 2014 Heysham 2 2023 Torness 2023 Sizewell B 2035 British Nuclear Fuels Calder Hall End March 2003 Chapelcross 2005 Sizewell A 2006 Dungeness A 2006 Oldbury 2008 Wylfa 2010