§ Mr. EnnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome is of the consultation on the renewables obligation. [154901]
§ Mr. HainI am pleased to announce today the publication of the analysis of responses to the Renewables Obligation Preliminary Consultation. Key issues were the cost of the Obligation to the consumer, whether or not to include energy from waste in the Obligation, the proposed level of capital grants, the treatment of imports, support for the longer term technologies and the profile of the Obligation up to 2010.
With more than 200 responses received, it is encouraging that our proposed policy has met with broad support from the industry and the public.
All the comments received have been given careful consideration and we shall be making our final proposals in the statutory consultation in May, prior to laying the necessary Order before the House.
§ Ms Dari TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what Government funding has been allocated for(a) the market stimulation and (b) research into the development of renewable fuels; [151123]
180W(2) what the organisations that received public funding for research into the development of renewable fuels spent the money on in each year (a) between 1992 and 1997 and (b) since 1997; how much they received; and if he will list the organisations. [151124]
§ Mr. HainThe Government have announced substantial initiatives towards achieving the target of obtaining 10 per cent. of our electricity from renewable energy by 2010.
The main mechanisms for the market stimulation of renewable energy are the proposed Renewables Obligation and the earlier Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO). Funds provided by the NFFO programme and its Scottish equivalent are estimated to peak at around £150 million per annum in years between 2003–04 and 2009–10. The Renewables Obligation is estimated to provide up to £600 million per annum by 2010.
Over the next three years, the Government have allocated over £250 million for the development of renewable energy. This includes:
support of £89 million in capital grants for early demonstration offshore wind and energy crop projects, and £12 million in MAFF planting grants for energy crops;the further £100 million public funding announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 6 March for the promotion of new generation renewable technologies;and over £55 million for renewables R&D.The Enterprise, Skills and Innovation White Paper published on 13 February proposes a major initiative to achieve a UK solar photovoltaic demonstration programme in line with those of our major competitors. An initial £10 million has been made available for the first three years.
Exemption of renewables electricity from the Climate Change Levy is also an important driver.
DTI directly supports research, development, demonstration, technology transfer and export promotion activities relating to a range of renewable energy sources through its New and Renewable Energy Programme. The breakdown of expenditure on specific renewable energy sources in the years since 1991–92, including programme management costs, is as shown. This Government have set rising budgets for the programme to begin to reverse the trend set under the previous Administration, and to bring forward new technologies. A budget of £14 million was allocated to the programme for this year. Proposed provision for the programme over the three year period 2001–04 is £55.5 million.
In addition, through the Science Budget, DTI supports relevant research being undertaken by the Research Councils. Expenditure for the full period between 1992 and 1997 is not readily available. Between 1997 and 2000, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the main Research Council funding work on renewables, spent £22.8 million on projects on renewable and clean electricity generation. The total value of current EPSRC projects in this field is £13.4 million.
Under the European Commission's 5th Framework Programme (1998–2002), funding for renewable energy projects co-ordinated by UK companies amounts to some 23 million euros to date.
181WTaking into account the cost of obtaining the information provided in this answer, a list of all the organisations involved in over 2000 projects supported
£ million 1991–921 1992–931 1993–941 1994–951 1995–961 1996–971 1997–981 Biomass 1.45 2.39 3.00 3.41 3.20 2.62 1.90 Wastes 1.56 1.41 1.16 1.79 1.76 0.87 0.24 Fuel Cells 0.40 0.54 1.14 1.33 1.56 1.22 1.20 Solar 2.97 2.81 2.99 3.02 2.27 2.15 1.95 Wind 8.42 10.61 9.19 3.98 4.15 2.90 1.63 Hydro 0.15 0.09 0.21 0.22 0.14 0.25 0.19 Wave 0.59 0.40 0.25 0.16 0.07 0.09 0.00 Tidal 2.44 2.11 0.73 0.32 0.29 0.00 0.00 Geo-Hot Dry Rocks 1.98 1.33 1.24 0.35 0.00 0.00 0.00 Geo-Aquifers 0.06 0.16 0.18 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Commercialisation 0.65 0.98 1.46 1.90 1.80 1.44 1.12 Exports 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.34 0.60 0.80 International 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.32 0.24 0.26 General Studies/Strategic Studies/Strategy and Evaluation 0.94 1.00 0.79 0.43 0.32 0.31 0.39 Marketing and Evaluation 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.56 0.49 0.61 Other 3.34 1.66 2.77 2.31 1.43 0.73 0.67 Total 24.95 25.49 25.11 19.22 18.21 13.91 10.96
£ million 1998–991 1999–20001 2000–011 2001–021 2002–031 2003–041 Biomass 1.75 2.24 2.74 — — — Wastes 0.05 0.02 0.00 — — — Fuel Cells 1.59 1.55 2.41 — — — Solar 1.39 1.73 2.43 — — — Wind 1.38 1.24 2.39 — — — Hydro 0.15 0.33 0.21 — — — Wave 0.16 0.01 0.57 — — — Tidal 0.00 0.00 0.00 — — — Geo-Hot Dry Rocks 0.00 0.00 0.00 — — — Geo-Aquifers 0.00 0.00 0.00 — — — Commercialisation 1.06 1.14 1.53 — — — Exports 0.86 0.89 0.92 — — — International 0.23 0.00 0.00 — — — General Studies/Strategic Studies/Strategy and Evaluation 0.00 0.00 0.00 — — — Marketing and Evaluation 0.66 0.64 0.61 — — — Other 0.25 0.23 0.19 — — — Total 9.53 10.02 14.00 18 18.5 19 1Total spend 2Allocation 3Plans Note:
Detailed allocation of provision for 2001–04 remains to be decided