§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what investment has been made by his Department and previously by the Department of Energy into the combined-cycle clean coal-burn topping prototype plant at Grimethorpe since the inception of the project; what investment has been made by foreign investors in the project; and if he will make a statement on the future of the project.
§ Mr. EggarMy Department and the former Department of Energy have provided approximately £11.6 million towards the funding of the clean coal-burn topping cycle prototype plant at Grimethorpe. Overseas commitments to the topping cycle programme at Grimethorpe amount to approximately £.1.4 million. Government funding ensured the successful completion of experimental work at the Grimethorpe facility earlier this year.
Experimental work to further advance various technical aspects of the topping cycle is currently being undertaken at the coal research establishment, Cheltenham. Meanwhile, my Department has provided £170,000 towards an independent expert review of the topping cycle concept to assess whether and how this technology should be taken forward. A report on the findings of this review is currently being considered by my Department.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many pits there were in Leicestershire in 1962, 1970, 1980, 1990 and to date; and how many jobs there were in those pits.
§ Mr. EggarThe number of deep mines in Leicestershire, and the number of men employed at those collieries, has declined sharply due to exhaustion of economic reserves. The figures are as follows:
Number of deep mines Number of men employed 1962 12 9,545 1970 9 7,280 1980 9 7,328 1990 2 1,099 1992 1 419 The one remaining mine, Asfordby, is a new colliery with extensive reserves and has benefited from £217 million of capital investment to date. It is expected to commence production in 1993–94.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of coal were imported in each of 413W the years 1985 to 1991 and the current year to date; and how much in each year was not suitable for use in power stations.
§ Mr. EggarThe information requested is as follows:
Quantity (thousand tonnes) Year Total coal imports Not suitable for use in power stations1 1985 12,732 8,357 1986 10,554 6,852 1987 9,781 7,065 1988 11,685 7,886 1989 12,137 8,763 1990 14,783 9,282 1991 19,491 10,281 21992 14,469 6,316 1 Coking coal and anthracite. 2 January to August. Source: Customs and Excise.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much German coal was imported into Britain in 1991 and so far in the current year.
§ Mr. EggarThe amount of coal imported into the United Kingdom from Germany in 1991 and January to August in 1992 was as follows:
Year Quantity (thousand tonnes) 1991 220 11992 160 1 January to August. Source: Customs and Excise.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will take steps to ensure that surpluses within the mineworkers' pension scheme are not utilised to pay for forthcoming redundancy packages in the coal mining industry.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the response of Her Majesty's Government to the proposal of the European Commission permitting use of natural gas for the generation of public electricity supplies; what assessment he has made of the implications for the use of indigenous coal resources; and what notification of adopting such a policy was given to the House or the public in his related memorandum.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 22 October 1992]: The European Commission's 1975 directive, 75/404/EEC, restricting the use of natural gas in electricity generation was repealed on 18 March 1991 by directive 91/148/EEC in the light of the increased availability of gas and the need for generators throughout the Community to be able to switch to low-polluting fuels. This information was conveyed to the House in a reply by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy, the hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory), to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 16 April 1991, Official Report, column 134.
414WThe choice of fuel for use in power stations is a matter for the operators of those stations, subject to meeting emission limits set by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, and other relevant statutory requirements.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans of the Central Electricity Generating Board for future production of electricity from coal-burning stations were abandoned, subsequent to arrangements concerning privatisation; and what would be the approximate cost per unit of such generation at(a) current coal costs and (b) costs expected in 1993.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 22 October 1992]: The CEGB planned the construction of three 1,800 MW coal-fired power stations in the period prior to privatisation. No application for consent was made for Kingsnorth B in Kent, and the application for Fawley B in Hampshire was subsequently withdrawn. West Burton B in Nottinghamshire was granted consent in March 1990, but construction was not begun.
The cost of electricity from these stations would depend on the contractual terms under which the stations were constructed and operated as well as coal costs.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the total value of stores, machinery, materials and other contracts made by British Coal with other bodies or persons, and supplied for the 31 coal pits now proposed for closure, for each of the calendar or financial years 1989 to 1991.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 22 October 1992]: My Department does not receive management information from British Coal at the level of detail requested. These are matters for British Coal.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing(a) the lowest price per gigajoule at which any supplier of gas or coal produces or supplies its fuel to electricity generators at 1992 prices, followed in no less than 10 categories by similar prices at equal steps to the highest price at which he expects production costs or contracts for future generating stations in the next 10 years, (b) the installed capacity for which it would be economic to generate at each respective price for coal, (c) new coal generation capacity contracted for, but not in production, (d) with minimum burn requirement on the basis of those contracts already made, (e) and (f) repetition of the two preceding columns in respect of new gas generation capacity not operating, but for which statutory approval has already been given and (g) and (h) the approximate respective capacities of gas and coal generation expected to be used in 1993, in respect of each price in that year, using levels of demand and supplies of electricity from other sources, of 1991, at each price shown in (b) and (c)
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 22 October 1992]: Under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 and preceding legislation, consents have been given that allow for the construction of around 13 GW of major—above 50 MW—gas-fired plant in England and Wales, in addition to that currently available for generation. Possession of a construction consent does not automatically mean that a project will proceed.
There is no new coal generation capacity contracted for but not currently available for generation.
415WThe other matters on which information is requested are commercial matters for the generating companies and fuel supply companies.