§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action has been taken as a result of her Department's Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Department of Energy in relation to new and renewable energy technologies. [35389]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Memorandum of Understanding between the DTI and the US Department of Energy (US DoE) came into force in November 2000. It aims to encourage collaboration in energy research and development. Some activities have already begun, eg on cleaner coal technologies. In the field of renewable energy, we await the response from the US DoE to a recent DTI proposal for a joint workshop on biomass to be held in UK later this year. This workshop would be supported by a series of site visits to show US experts what we are doing in the UK.
My officials are also in discussion with US DoE on the possibilities of a workshop on distributed generation. Such a workshop would bring together experts from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss issues critical to the market penetration of renewable energy, with a view to possibly developing collaborative research and development projects.