HC Deb 30 January 2002 vol 379 c380W
Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evidence she has collated on the impact on conversion efficiency of generation of electricity on a small localised scale. [29493]

Mr. Wilson

The Department publishes conversion efficiencies for power stations operated by major power producers in Table 5.9 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics. Efficiencies of CHP systems are given in Table 6A of the Digest and electrical efficiencies within CHP systems can be calculated from the data in Table 6.8. Conversion efficiencies of electricity from biofuels, onshore wind and hydro can be calculated from data given in Chapter 7; by convention, energy inputs to wind and hydro are equivalent to the electricity produced.

Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average cost is per kilo-watt hour of(a) onshore wind, (b) gas-fired, (c) nuclear and (d) hydro-electric-generated electricity. [30314]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 25 January 2002]: The Department published estimates of the cost of gas-fired generation in the 1998 White Paper (Cm 4071, paragraph 5.38).

The last study of nuclear costs was published in 1995 and indicated that generation costs would be around 3.9p/kWh. Since then nuclear generators have produced generation cost estimates for new designs of around 2.6p/kWh.

Estimates of the cost of renewables technologies are contained in a report by the Energy Technology Support Unit (New and Renewables Energy Prospects in the 21stCentury: Supporting Analysis) published in March 1999. This report is available in the Library of the House.

The Department has also contributed to the work of the energy review being undertaken by the Performance and Innovation Unit at the Cabinet Office, which has looked at the cost of new nuclear generation. A copy of their paper which covers estimates for a range of generation technologies (including onshore wind) can be found at: http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uldinnovation/2001/energy/ 2050.pdf.

The full PIU report is expected to be published shortly.