§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will make it his policy to promote methane extraction for useful energy generation of all controlled waste tips of over 1 million cu m of refuse;
(2) what is the most up-to-date estimate available to him of the minimum size, measured by cubic metres, of controlled household refuse tips, to sustain viable commercial methane extraction.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAs I explained to the hon. Member in answer to his question of 18 January, my Department has a substantial programme to promote exploitation of methane from landfill sites. This work is not limited to sites with more than 1 million cu m of waste capacity. Landfill gas exploitation is being encouraged at all landfill sites containing a large proportion of biodegradable refuse providing such exploitation can be shown to be economic.
The minimum size of landfill sites for viable commercial methane extraction does not depend on volume alone. Factors such as locality of potential users are also important. For example, a small-scale greenhouse scheme could be supported by a site of only a few thousand cubic metres in volume. Hence, it would not be appropriate to suggest a minimum value, in terms of cubic metres of refuse on a landfill site, to sustain a viable extraction project.