§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what funding his Department has provided into photovoltaic research for each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. MoynihanOn 8 May 1991 I announced that the Government would fund a £250,000 programme of research into photovoltaics. It is expected that expenditure in FY1991/92 will amount to about £60,000. Prior to my announcement, the Department's renewable programme undertook an investigation into photovoltaics costing about £40,000, and the report was published in 1990 as ETSU-R-50, "Review of Photovoltaic Power Technology". Between FY1981/82 and FY 1990/91, the solar element of the renewables programme was directed primarily at passive solar design, rather than photovoltaics, with expenditure rising from £0.7 million to £2.1 million during that period.