Gas Emissions (Hansard, 5 July 1989)

§ Mr. Barron
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if the carbon dioxide emissions due to fossil fuels utilised in the mining and enrichment of uranium are taken account of in his Department's calculations of current and likely future greenhouse gas emissions; what the emission rate per gigawatt year of electricity currently is; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Michael Spicer
Carbon dioxide emissions from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle are negligible and vary according to the country in which the activity is undertaken. Such emissions in the United Kingdom are included in the industrial emissions category.
The emission rate of carbon dioxide for the electricity supplied by the CEGB, from all sources, in 1987 was approximately 7 million tonnes of CO₂ per gigawatt year.

§ Mr. Barron
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what estimates his Department has produced for the carbon dioxide emissions which occur due to the fossil fuels utilised in the complete nuclear fuel cycle for a Magnox reactor, advance gas-cooled reactor and a pressurised water reactor of the Hinkley C type.

§ Mr Michael Spicer
My Department has made no detailed estimates of CO₂ emissions from the fuel cycle for nuclear power stations, but in general these will be negligible and depend on the sources of energy supply used to run the individual processes involved.

§ Mr. Barron
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what specific proposals his Department has put forward for consideration and enactment, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane, since the seminar held by the Prime Minister on 26 April.

§ Mr. Michael Spicer
Current policies and initiatives are intended to limit the emission of CO₂ Further measures to cut such emissions will be considered as further scientific evidence is generated.
172W

§ Mr. Barron
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many waste landfill sites produce methane gas in the United Kingdom; how much methane gas is estimated to be produced annually in million tonnes of methane and carbon dioxide equivalent; and what estimates he has of additional sources of methane gas;
(2) what level of methane leaks occurs in natural gas systems in the United Kingdom, in both million tonnes and as a percentage of total gas produced, broken down by (a) that related to natural gas production and pipelines and (b) that related to point of use.

§ Mr. Michael Spicer
Any site which has taken biodegradeable waste has the potential to produce landfill gas. Records of the types of waste permitted at landfill sites in England and Wales show that there are approximately 3,500 sites which have been licensed to receive waste of the type that can produce landfill gas. In 1988 Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution estimated that some 1,300 of these might require gas management measures. In addition, HMIP is aware of sites producing landfill gas which were licensed to deposit only inert wastes.
My Department has expended £10 million on research and development into biofuels, including ,£1.1 million on landfill gas up to the end of the financial year 1988–1989. This has resulted in successful demonstrations of landfill gas technology which is leading to increasing commercial exploitation. Recent estimates from the Energy Technology Support Unit suggest that about 0.7 megatonnes of methane are produced annually by landfill sites in the United Kingdom. As molecule for molecule methane is about 25 to 30 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide, this represents the equivalent, on a weight for weight basis, of between 50 to 55 megatonnes of CO₂.
We are aware of 14 sites generating electricity from landfill gas with an installed capacity of around 25 MW. We expect the installed capacity to increase to over 40 MW during the next year. The non-fossil fuel obligation in the Electricity Bill should provide an enhanced opportunity for renewable energy, including landfill gas. All economic and practical proposals will be eligible to contribute to the initial obligation to be set towards the end of 1989. Further tranches totalling up to 600 MW reserved exclusively for renewables will be set during the 1990s.
Other significant non-biological sources of methane gas consist of leakages from the natural gas production, distribution and supply system and from the seepage of the gas during coal production—this represented just over 1 megatonnes in 1988 of which about 10 per cent. is utilised and so does not escape to the atmosphere.
Natural gas leakage, together with permitted venting in the United Kingdom continental shelf, amounts to about I per cent. of throughput, or about 0.4 megatonnes a year of methane at current levels. The majority of this is attributable to leakage from the distribution system and only a very small proportion relates to the point of use.