§ 35. Mr. Ripponasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will obtain and place in the Library a copy of the United States Energy Research and Development Administration's recent report on energy research; and whether he agrees that the potential of solar electric power production should now rank equally with the development of advanced nuclear energy systems.
§ Mr. John SmithI intend to place a copy of the United States Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) report on energy research in the Library as soon as further copies are available.
There may be scope for making greater use of solar energy, but I do not agree that the potential for solar electric power in the United Kingdom is sufficient to warrant ranking it equally with advanced nuclear systems.
§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for Energy what expenditure is planned for each of the next five years on research into nuclear power, coal, oil and renewable energy sources, respectively; and what expenditure is planned for the same period on research into the conservation of energy.
5W
§ Mr. EadieThis year's review of public expenditure is not yet completed. The latest available figures are, therefore, those in the 1974 White Paper on Public Ex-
£ million (1974 prices) 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 Nuclear Power 54.0 60.4 52.1 45.3 Oil resources and extraction 5.0 5.0 5.6 6.4 Energy Technology (including coal, renewable energy sources and conservation) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 These were forecasts of expenditure by my Department and exclude substantial expenditure elsewhere, for example, by the nationalised industries.