§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 16 November (WA 108), why it has taken over 12 months to spend or commit only one-seventieth of the £30 million allocated in October 2000 to the Energy Crops Scheme. [HL1567]
§ Lord WhittyEnergy Crops Scheme applicants must show that they have a prospective market for their crop and the low level of expenditure reflects slower than expected progress with biomass-fuelled projects supported under the non-fossil fuel obligation. The Government have now allocated over £70 million of funding for market development and we are working closely with government departments and other bodies to develop opportunities in power generation, combined heat and power and heat applications. We expect this to lead to a significant increase in uptake.