§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what(a) amount and (b) percentage of the United Kingdom's electricity supply were supplied by renewable sources in each year since the non-fossil fuel obligation was introduced in 1989. [43224]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 3 June 1998]The following table shows information on electricity from renewable sources for the years since 1989. Generation from all renewable sources is included, not just those sources supported by the non-fossil fuel obligation. The amount of electricity available from hydro sources in a particular year depends on rainfall in the preceding period. Dry weather affected output from hydro stations in 1991, 1993 and 1996. When hydro electricity is excluded, other renewable sources are shown to be providing an increasing proportion of generation in the UK, and their contribution in 1997 was 47½ times that in 1989.
Since coming into office I have repeatedly stressed my commitment to renewable energies. Indeed within weeks of the election I announced a review of renewable energy policy including consideration of what would be necessary and practicable for the UK to achieve a 10 per cent. contribution from renewable resources towards electricity generation by 2010. I can confirm that we remain committed to the 10 per cent. target and expect to make a further announcement in due course. The announcement of policy proposals for the fifth non-fossil fuel obligation round which I made on 25 November 1997, Official Report, columns 507–10, will be the first step in our new and strong drive for renewables and I expect NFFO-5 will contribute substantially to reducing greenhouse gases and encouraging internationally competitive industries. I expect to make this Order later this year.
Electricity generated from renewable sources (GWh) Renewables as a proportion of total generated (percentage) Year Total Total excluding hydro Total Total excluding hydro Total electricity generated in the UK (GWh) 1989 5,496 710 1.9 0.2 292,896 1990 5,894 687 2.0 0.2 298,495 1991 5,411 787 1.8 0.3 301,490 1992 6,504 1,073 2.0 0.3 321,043 1993 5,884 1,582 1.8 0.5 323,102 1994 7,307 2,213 2.2 0.7 324,978 1995 7,242 2,404 2.2 0.7 334,047 1996 6,036 2,675 1.7 0.8 347,369 19971 7,341 3,213 2.1 0.9 345,786 1 Data for 1997 are provisional Source:
Digest of UK Energy Statistics, includes figures that have been revised since the Digest for 1997 was published