§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will give details of the current research programme into geothermal energy that his Department is sponsoring; and what further research programmes he expects to sponsor in the next year;
(2) how much has been spent by his Department into research into geothermal energy in the past five years; and how much it is proposed to spend in the current and next financial years.
§ Mr. MellorThe Department's current geothermal programme includes research on hot dry rock technology, the investigation of deep hot aquifers and an assessment of the potential size and distribution of the United Kingdom resource. Expenditure (including VAT) on the programme for the past three years was as follows:
£ Thousand 1978–79 162 1979–80 1,277 1980–81 2,248 The forecast outturn for 1981–82 is £6.8 million (including VAT). I regret that figures for expenditure prior to the financial year 1978–79 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
I shall not be deciding finally on the size and content of our future geothermal research programme until I have considered the advice of my advisory council on research and development for fuel and power (ACORD), due in the spring. However, forecast expenditure on existing propects is about £4 million (including VAT) in the financial year 1982–83.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the principal criteria by which he determines whether to support a particular geothermal project.
§ Mr. MellorThe principal criteria are that new research should advance our knowledge of methods and technologies for harnessing geothermal energy and/or further our knowledge of the size and distribution of the United Kingdom resource, to enable the Government to estimate with reasonable confidence the contribution which geothermal energy might make to United Kingdom energy supplies. Geothermal research proposals have to be considered against competing calls on my Department's research and development budget.