§ Mr. MullinTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assistance his Department has given to applied research and technology over(a) research, (b) production and (c) newsletters of the Osprey wave power project; and if he will make a statement. [38375]
§ Mr. PageMy Department has directly assisted applied research and technology during the early phase of research and development on the OSPREY device through funding a wave tank testing experiment during 1992–93 at a cost of approximately £50,000 and a tow-out evaluation at an additional cost of £12,000.
My Department has also assisted ART through sponsoring an assessment of OSPREY's structure, carried out by Advanced Mechanics and Engineering, an independent engineering consultancy, at a cost of £25,000, and to date has funded around £130,000 of research and development into pneumatic turbines, carried out by the Queen's university of Belfast, which will have been of indirect benefit to ART as the purpose of the work was to provide testing facilities for turbines suitable for eventual deployment in the OSPREY device. This work is scheduled for completion in 1996 at a final cost of around £200,000.
My Department has also commissioned an independent study of the OSPREY device at a cost of around £17,000, conducted with full co-operation from ART.
A short article on the OSPREY device is due to appear in the next issue of "New Review" magazine, scheduled for publication in December 1995, which is devoted to new and renewable energy and fully funded by my Department. "New Review" has a circulation in excess of 30,000. Copies are sent to the libraries of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.