HL Deb 22 February 1988 vol 493 c1042WA
Lord Mason of Barnsley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the estimated cost of the research and development of the fluidised bed combustion technology by the British Government and each of the foreign contributors to this development.

Viscount Davidson

Department expenditure for British Coal's participation in the pressurised fluidised bed combustion work at Grimethorpe under International Energy Agency auspices amounted to £1 7 million during the period of 1976 to 1984. The National Coal Board contributed £3 million. The Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany each contributed £20 million during this period.

Since 1985, the present £28 million three-year programme has been funded jointly by British Coal and the CEGB, and contract work for the US Department of Energy and the US Electric Power Research Institute has amounted to a further input of about £7 million.