§ Brigadier Medlicottasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what experiments are proceeding in this country with a view to the large-scale underground gasification of coal.
§ Mr. Geoffrey LloydExperiments have been in hand since 1950, and work is now proceeding at two sites, Newman Spinney, near Sheffield, and Bayton, in Worcestershire. The experiments are designed to establish the practicability of embarking upon large-scale operations and to provide the data necessary for the planning of such operations.
The results of the experimental work are encouraging. More than 1,500 tons of coal have been gasified and much useful information obtained. A detailed technical account of the experimental work in 1951 and 1952 has been published in the Journal of the Institute of Fuel for May, 1953, and I am sending a copy to my hon. and gallant Friend.