§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information his Department134W collects on (a) gas-fired and (b) combined heat and power plants, and on planning applications made for such plants in (i) England and (ii) Wales. [120051]
§ Mrs. LiddellIn relation to any new power station with a capacity of more than 50 megawatts (whether gas fired or combined heat and power plant), the Secretary of State's consent is required under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. If, having followed the procedures set out in the Electricity Act, the Secretary of State decides to grant consent, planning permission is deemed to be granted under section 90 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. All applications have to provide information as required under the Electricity and Pipeline Works (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1990.
Stations with a capacity of more than 10 MW which are fuelled by natural gas require approval under section 14 of the Energy Act 1976 and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will be supplied with factual information for him to form a judgment as to whether energy policy clearance should be given.
Decisions under both the Electricity Act and the Energy Act are announced by way of Parliamentary Answer, Press Notice and informing interested parties direct.
The Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, is published annually and contains a chapter on combined heat and power. The Digest for 2000 is due to be published at the end of July and will give annual data on capacity, fuel and output from combined heat and power schemes in the UK for 1999 and earlier years. The Digest also contains a chapter on electricity which gives the latest statistics on the total generating capacity of gas-fired stations, the volume of gas used for generation, and electricity generated and supplied by gas fired stations.