§ Sir Eldon GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has about the relative thermal efficiency of(a) combined cycle gas power plants and (b) combined heat and power plants; and if he will publish a table showing the approximate range of thermal efficiency achieved by plants using both types of power generators.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryModern combined cycle gas turbine electricity generating stations of the type planned currently have a thermal efficiency of about 48 per cent., although future plants are expected to offer improvements on this, possibly reaching 54 per cent. in the next five years.
Combined heat and power plants are usualy tailored to meet the particular combination of heat and electricity loads of individual customers, and can be almost any size and combination of type of equipment and fuel. Therefore
Department of Energy RD and D Expenditure on Renewable Energy £ million Programme 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 Wind 0.6 0.8 0.9 2.5 2.5 4.8 5.4 3.7 4 3.9 4.8 4.5 6.2 Wave 3 3.3 4.4 3.1 1 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.5 Geothermal Aquifers 1.3 1.7 2.6 1.5 1.8 1.1 0.3 0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0 0.1 Geothermal HDR 0 0.6 5.6 3 2.9 4.6 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.3 2.6 1.8 Solar 1.2 0.9 0.7 1.4 0.9 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.4 1.9 2.1 2.3 Biomass1 0.1 0.4 0.4 1.2 0.7 1.1 0.8 1.3 2.2 1.5 1.4 1.8 2.3 Tide 0.6 1.4 0.4 0 0 0.3 0.1 0.1 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.9 2.0 Hydro/General Studies — — — — — — — — 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.5 Technology Transfer/ Promotion — — — — — — — — 0.7 1 1.6 2.7 3.0 ETSU Services 1.4 2.2 2.3 2 1.9 2.1 2 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.7 3.8 4.3 Total 8.2 11.3 17.3 14.7 11.7 14.9 13.2 12.0 16.3 16 17.9 20.8 24.0 1 Includes expenditure on "Waste as a Fuel" projects under the Energy Efficiency Office demonstration scheme Notes:
Up to 1986–87 the total for R&D also includes expenditure on Low Head Hydro and General Studies to 1986–87. These are separately identified
for 1987–88 and include work carried out by the Chief Scientist Group, ETSU.
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Department of Energy RD and D Expenditure on Renewable Energy (1991–92 prices) £ million Programme 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 Wind 1.4 1.6 1.6 4.2 4.0 7.4 7.8 5.2 5.3 4.8 5.6 4.8 6.2 Wave 7.0 6.5 7.9 5.2 1.6 0.6 0.6 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.5 Geothermal Aquifers 3.0 3.3 4.7 2.5 2.9 1.7 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.1 Geothermal HDR 0.0 1.2 10.0 5.0 4.6 7.0 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.3 3.8 2.8 1.8 Solar 2.8 1.8 1.3 2.3 1.4 0.7 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.7 2.2 2.3 2.3 Biomass1 0.2 0.8 0.7 2.0 11 1.7 1.2 1.8 2.9 1.9 1.6 1.9 2.3 Tide 1.4 2.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.1 0.1 1.9 1.5 1.3 20 2.0 Hydro/General Studies/ CSG — — — — — — — — 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.5 it is not possible to generalise but efficiencies are normally in the range of 70 to 80 per cent. but can be as high as 90 per cent.