§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Energy what action he is taking to exploit biomass energy sources; and if he estimates that these sources will make a major contribution to the country's energy needs within the next 10 years.
§ Mr. EadieStaff at the Department's energy technology support unit and external experts are carrying out assessment studies on energy from biomass as part of the Department's solar energy R & D programme. It is too early to say what contribution energy from biomass might make to the country's future energy needs but over the next ten years it is likely to be small. However, our preliminary studies indicate that the biomass resource could be significant and studies are continuing to establish this more firmly and to assess the technical and economic feasibility of exploiting energy from biomass sources. The commitment to these studies at present is £600,000.