§ 17. Mr. Macfarlaneasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the anticipated increase broken down into 2W figures for each individual research activity into alternative energy sources in the current year and the forthcoming year; and what assessment for commercial success his Department places upon each research activity.
§ Mr. EadieWithin the main programmes approved to date my Department's spend on research and development on alternative sources is expected to increase between the two years approximately as follows: solar energy by 65 per cent.; wave power by 30 per cent.; and geothermal energy by 25 per cent. One of the objects of the present stage of the R & D programme is to get the data which will make possible a meaningful assessment of the chances of commercial success in each activity.