§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many landfill sites have been identified by his Department where biodegradable wastes could produce significant volumes of biogas for commercial exploitation; how many sites are currently extracting biogas commercially; and what is the volume in coal tonnes equivalent he estimates can be exploited from British landfill sites.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerA recent estimate, made on behalf of my Department, has identified 438 sites where landfill gas from biodegradable wastes could be exploited commercially. Of this total, some 24 sites are already extracting and exploiting landfill gas and producing an energy equivalent of 0.16 million tonnes coal equivalent (mtce) annually. While there is great uncertainty about projections for renewable sources of energy, it is possible that this amount could more than double by 1992, and reach around 1.5 mtce by the turn of the century.