§ Mr. Rostasked the Secretary of State for Energy what studies he has undertaken of existing and projected schemes by private industry which combine the production of heat and electricity from power stations; how many such projects are operational or under construction; what is their total energy output; and what is their average thermal efficiency.
§ Mr. EadieInformation on electricity generation by private industry is regu-134W larly collected on behalf of the Department of Energy by the Business Statistics Office, which has also carried out a preliminary survey of generating capacity at the larger industrial establishments generating more than about 2GWh per year. This is being followed up by a survey directed to all industrial establishments, primarily aimed at obtaining details of standby electricity generating plant, but also seeking information about the capacity of all types of private generating plant.
In addition, the CBI, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, has conducted a survey of energy use amongst a substantial proportion of membership in industry, which included questions on the combined production of heat and electricity.
Although complete statistics are not yet available, information so far collected suggests that there are around 170 combined heat and power schemes in private industry generating more than 2GWh per year. The number under construction is not known, but the joint CBI/DEN survey suggests that the number is small, ranging between 1 per cent. and perhaps up to 5 per cent. of the estimated present number and capacity. The total electrical capacity is thought to be around 3000MW, with overall thermal efficiencies ranging from less than 20 per cent. for older condensing power stations with little waste heat utilisation to over 70 per cent., when most of the waste heat from more modern installations is used for industrial processes. Difficulties associated with interpretation and measurement preclude the use of a meaningful average value.