§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he intends to reopen the application of the gas-fired power station proposals which he refused as a result of the stricter consent policy; [120116]
(2) what his policy is regarding granting permission to construct gas-fired power stations under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. [120115]
§ Mrs. LiddellMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 17 April that he intends to lift the stricter consents policy as soon as the new electricity trading arrangements are in place, which he expects to be by October this year. The lifting of the stricter consents policy will mean that the existing presumption against new gas-fired power generation will no longer apply. The initiative for proposals for new power stations will remain with private sector companies to consider, to meet the evolving needs of the energy market. That market will be influenced by measures such as exemption from the climate change levy for CHP and enhanced capital allowances. It will also be influenced by the implementation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) Directive which emphasises that installations are operated in such a way that energy is used efficiently, and by the draft Large Combustion Plants Directive, which if adopted in its present form will 135W require the technical and economic feasibility of providing for the combined generation of heat and power to be examined.
The Government strongly support CHP and, consistent with the above measures, will expect developers to be able to show that they have explored opportunities to use CHP, providing heat for business and the community, although it is recognised that that may not always be practical. The Department will be discussing with developers the information which needs to be submitted as part of the notification under section 14 of the Energy Act and applications under section 36 of the Electricity Act.
The Department will also be contacting the promoters of the 15 proposals put on hold since October 1998, with a view to seeing whether those developers wish to proceed with their proposals and what updating of information is required of them.
Until the stricter consents policy is lifted, it will continue to play a part in the energy market.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the likely future reserves of North Sea gas, taking into account the proposal to lift the stricter current policy from October. [120108]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe Department of Trade and Industry publishes estimates of remaining recoverable reserves of gas on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) in its annual "Brown Book", the next edition of which is due for publication in May 2000. The UKCS includes the Irish Sea and Atlantic Margin as well as the North Sea. The lower and upper ends of the ranges of the Department's estimates of remaining recoverable reserves of natural gas, in billion cubic metres, at the end of 1999 are given in the table in cubic metres:
Lower end of range Upper end of range Discovered 760 1,755 Undiscovered1 355 1,465 1 "Yet-to-find" The impact on remaining recoverable reserves of the proposed lifting of the stricter consents policy from October 2000 is not likely to be significant. Higher demand for gas could advance the pace of reserve depletion or it could increase the reserve base if it leads to an increase in exploration activity.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when Britain will become a net importer of natural gas. [120107]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe date on which the UK will revert to being a net importer of natural gas will depend on a number of variables, such as the timing of commencement and cessation of production from particular fields and the rate of growth of demand (which can influence the pace of exploration and development of discoveries). It is likely that the UK will again become a net importer of gas during the present decade. There is, however, infrastructure in place to permit imports as and when they are needed.
136W
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what legal advice he received concerning the legality of imposing a moratorium on gas-fired power stations; [120183]
(2) when the Government changed its moratorium on new gas-fired power stations to a strict consents policy. [120493]
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate how much coal capacity is lost for each additional 1MW of gas-fired electricity generation, assuming electricity demand and the import level stay the same. [120184]
§ Mr. ByersI refer the right hon. Member to my reply on 25 May 1999,Official Report, column 109W.