§ 1. Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans his Department has for increasing the national effort in the fields of alternative and benign sources of energy.
§ Mr. Eadie, pursuant to his answer [Official Report, 29th November 1976; Vol. 921, c. 449–50], gave the following further information:
The Department of Energy's Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) is looking into the utilisation of various forms of 331W energy, including solar energy, and a report entitled "Solar energy: its potential contribution within the United Kingdom" is being published today. I have placed copies in the Library.
After consideration of this report, the Secretary of State's Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power (ACORD) has recommended that the Department of Energy should mount a four-year programme of research, development and demonstration in the solar energy field. We have accepted this recommendation and the Department is now implementing the proposals recommended by ACORD. The total cost of the programme will be around £3.6 million.
Its principal aims will be to:
reduce the uncertainties identified by the ETSU assessment in order that the potential rôle of solar energy as a contribution to United Kingdom energy supply can be identified more closely; and
stimulate the development of cost-effective solar technologies.
This programme will complement the work being carried out by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Industry and represents a substantial expansion of Government-funded research and development in the solar energy field. Total Government expenditure over the next four years is likely to be about £6 million. The United Kingdom is also participating in the solar energy programme of the European Economic Community.
The major subject areas of the Department of Energy's programme will be: solar water and space heating, insulation data and research into biological systems.
The use of solar energy for water and space heating has been identified as the area of greatest potential return. Some industrial research in this area is already being carried out and a major part of my Department's programme will be in the form of contracts in support of existing industrial initiatives. The Building Research. Establishment will also undertake a large share of the work, while supporting and fundamental studies will be carried out by academic institutions.
The Meteorological Office has for many years recorded the published data 332W relevant to the use of solar energy in buildings. As interest in the subject grows it will be necessary to ensure that more information is collected in urban areas, where the majority of potential users of solar heating live, and that it is analysed and published in the forms most useful to practitioners and researchers in solar energy.
The direct or indirect production of liquid or gaseous fuels through the use of biological systems is a challenging long-term possibility and further work is needed to establish the credibility of doing this in the United Kingdom context.
Research and development on photovoltaic devices is already being undertaken by the Department of Industry and ACORD has accepted the recommendation in the ETSU report that Department of Energy funds should not be allocated to further work in this area at the present time. ETSU will, however, continue to monitor progress at home and abroad on projects relating to the development of photovoltaic conversion.