HC Deb 10 July 1989 vol 156 cc377-9W
Dr. Kim Howells

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list Government expenditure on research and development in the area of energy efficiency for the years 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989;

(2) if he will list the proposed funding for research and development in the area of energy efficiency for the years 1990–91 and 1991–92;

(3) what amount of funding is being allocated to research and development in the area of energy efficiency in the current financial year.

Mr. Peter Morrison

The information requested is as follows:

Expenditure on energy efficiency research, development and demonstration1 2
Year £'000s
1980–81 2,015
1982–83 6,841
1984–85 6,564
1986–87 8,197
1988–89 9,077
1989–90 8,850
1 For the year 1989–90 the figure is the estimate provision. Prior years are outturn.
2 All figures exclude expenditure on the monitoring and targeting programme.

Figures for future years will be published shortly in the 1989 Annual Review of Government-Funded R & D.

Mr. Morley

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give a breakdown of his Department's spending on research and development in the following sources of energy for 1988, its plans for 1989 and its plans for future years(a) nuclear fission in thermal reactors, (b) nuclear fission in fast breeder reactors, (c) nuclear fusion, (d) renewable energy sources as a whole, (e) tidal power, (f) solar, (g) windpower, (h) wave power, (i) hiofuels, (j) wet rock geothermal, (k) dry rock geothermal, (l) other renewable sources, (m) conventional fossil fuel sources and (h) any other sources of energy; and whether he will give comparable figures for other European Economic Community countries.

Mr. Michael Spicer

The figures requested are as follows:

Expenditure in £ million
1988–89 1989–90
Thermal reactors (safety research only) 19.53 17.27
Fast breeder reactor 104.55 98.58
Fusion 26.21 26.60
All renewables 15.01 16.80
Tidal 1.18 1.00
Solar 1.42 1.90
Wind 3.91 5.00
Wave 0.14 0.20
Biomass 1.48 2.00
Wet rock geothermal 0.06 0.15
Dry rock geothermal 3.50 2.90
Other renewable 3.32 3.65
Fossil fuels 0.72 2.56
Other sources of energy

Figures for future years will be published shortly in the 1989 Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development, in the usual format for that publication.

Figures for other European Community countries can be found in the annual review published by the International Energy Agency "Energy Policies and Programmes of IEA Countries", the most recent of which was produced in 1988. Expenditure figures and forecasts for other countries may not be on the same basis as for the United Kingdom.