§ Mr. JanmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the Government intend to encourage the development and use of refuse-derived fuel.
§ Mr. MoynihanI have been asked to reply.
Municipal and industrial refuse are major potential sources of energy and my Department's policy is to encourage the use of waste as a fuel wherever it is economically viable and environmentally acceptable. My Department is undertaking a substantial programme of research and development aimed at overcoming the difficulties associated with the handling, storing and 446W burning of refuse-derived fuel (RDF). At present there are 12 current RDF R and D projects with a total contract value of £1.3 million. In addition the non-fossil fuel obligation will help the RDF industry to enter the market for electricity generation; there were two such projects included in the initial tranche of the NFFO.
Arrangements for the second tranche were announced on 19 December. It will be brought forward in 1991 and it is the Government's intention to include in that tranche a separate band reserved for municipal and general industrial waste incineration projects, which will include refuse-derived fuel.