HC Deb 28 July 2000 vol 354 cc1100-1W
Joan Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's total budget is for support for renewable energy technologies and low carbon technologies for the years 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04. [133480]

Mrs. Liddell

The budget for new and renewable energy R&D for the current financial year is £14 million. The outcome of the Government's Spending Review announced on 18 July set new spending totals for all Departments for 2001–04. The DTI settlement specifically made available nearly £40 million from the Climate Change Levy fund over the three years 2001–04 for a number of demonstration projects for technologies with potential in the longer term, such as offshore wind and energy crops. Detailed allocations of the rest of the Department's budgets for 2001–02 to 2003–04 have yet to be made.

Separately, the Department covers within its Departmental Expenditure Limits expenditure incurred by Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) for renewable electricity generated under Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) contracts, in which the Department has no locus. The RECs are compensated for this expenditure by receipts under the Fossil Fuel Levy. The Department's allocations for this expenditure are:

£ million
2000–01 81
2001–02 92
2002–03 117
2003–04 139

Expenditure under NFFO is demand led. If expenditure turns out to be higher than these allocations there is a ring-fence arrangement in place agreed with Treasury enabling access to the Reserve, to ensure that the actual level of expenditure will be covered.

While the Department does not provide specific funding to low carbon technologies, it supports several programmes of research, development and demonstration and assistance to business which may have the effect of encouraging the development and uptake of such technologies. For example, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has a research programme into low carbon technologies with approximate spend plans of:

£ million
2000–01 3.65
2001–02 4.65
2002–03 5.25
2003–04 6.26